World Of Darkness
by Flaming Trails
Summary: In Biffhorrific Hill Valley, an Alternate Doc is going to get a severe shock. A complement to the VDCs, but not part of them.
1. Biffhorrific Doc

Untitled

By Flaming Trails

A Back To The Future Story

Disclaimer: I don't own BTTF. If I did, there would be no problems with the widescreen DVDS.

Prologue: Ever since I saw Back To The Future, Part II, I've been fascinated by the alternate Hill Valley Biff runs, and the Doc and Marty who have to live in it. This is a story set in that world. I reveal more backstory as the fiction progresses. Suffice to say, this is a "Vampire Doc" story (naturally), but this version is very different from our familiar version. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1

Sunday, November 17th, 1985

'Hell' Valley

6: 47 A. M.

_Marty looked at him. He seemed nervous, uneasy for some reason. "Thanks," he said, voice slightly shaky._

_"Thank you!" Doc Brown replied enthusiastically. This teenager had given him all a scientist could ask for. He had inspired him, encouraged him, given him something to shoot for by his mere presence._

_And he had given him the pure pleasure of having a best friend for the first time. It would be hard, waiting 30 years to talk to him about the past week. But, with any luck and his memories, he would manage._

_Suddenly, Marty pulled him into a hug. Doc froze for a moment. Even though Marty had shown himself amendable to the occasional hug in their brief week together, this one was different. It almost felt - sad. Like this was the last hug he'd ever get to give Doc. Wanting to reassure him, he reciprocated, gently patting his back. "In about 30 years?"_

_Marty's reply sounded like he was choking back tears. "I hope so!"_

_"_He must have travel anxiety,_" Doc deduced. "_He's worried the experiment won't work, and that he'll be stuck here - or worse, killed. Better calm him._" He pulled away to smile at and reassure him. "Don't worry!" he shouted over the wind. He went around Marty to indicate the setup. "As long as you hit that wire with the connecting hook at precisely 88 miles per hour, the instant the lightning strikes the tower-"_

_He paused for a moment to think up a suitably impressive end. None came. "Everything will be fine," he finally shrugged, putting his hand in his pockets._

At that moment, there was a loud "Ke-BANG!"

Dr. Emmett Lathrop Brown's eyes snapped open. His first thought was that somehow, the lightning had struck early, and Marty was stuck in the past. Then reality set in as he glanced around, reminding him that lightning was something he didn't have to worry about ever again. With a sigh and a glare, he turned to face the door. Jackson, an attendant, was standing their, his mocking, smiling face visible through the window. "Wakie wakie, Dr. Brown," he taunted over the intercom. "It's shrink day."

"_Wonderful,_" Doc thought. He hated the weekly visits to his psychologist. Dr. Joan Adams was the most annoying woman on the planet. She suffered from 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions' syndrome. She wanted the best for everyone, but acted like a complete jerk when trying to help them. And she didn't believe anyone who told her she was a jerk. It had been just his luck to secure her as a psychiatrist. But then, it went along with everything _else _that had happened to him since Biff's seizure of Hill Valley in the '60s.

Jackson, a man who strongly reminded Doc of a toad, unlocked the door with his master key and walked causally in. Behind him were his cronies, Torrance and Donald, two younger attendants who kept their distance. Torrance held a strait-jacket, Donald wheeled a cart with breakfasts and paper cups filled with drugs to give to patients. "Time to take your thorazine, Dr. Brown," Donald said nervously.

Doc looked at him coldly. "Why don't you take it, just for a change?" he rasped.

Jackson smiled in that loathsome way he had. "Behave yourself, Dr. Brown. Some interns are coming for a tour today, and we're getting a new patient in. We can't spare any personnel for you if you misbehave." He took his police baton and smacked Doc in the stomach, just because he could. Doc held back a cry of pain.

"You should have a cup sometime," he suggested to Jackson as he got the plate and cup. "It tastes horrible. You'd probably love it."

"Too bad. You're the patient. You drink it." He took the flimsy paper cup and held it to Doc's lips. Doc held his mouth closed. Jackson grinned and pinched Doc's nose, harder than necessary. Giving in, Doc opened his mouth. Jackson poured the red fluid in, and watched as Doc shut his mouth and swallowed. "Good boy." He undid the restraints holding Doc to his bed. Doc watched silently as he was given freedom of movement. "Now eat your breakfast, and we'll take you to your doctor. She's got you scheduled early today." He and his gang left, locking the door behind them. "Back in a sec, darling," he teased as they moved on.

Doc waited a moment as they moved off, then got up and stretched. He walked over to his stainless steel sink and spit out the thorazine he had cleverly hidden in his mouth. A grim smile appeared on his face as he washed it down the drain. After 2 years, Jackson still hadn't figured out all his tricks.

He splashed his face with some cold water, then pulled down his pants and did his business in the toilet. A glance out the small barred window promised a rare sunny day in Hill Valley. Doc idly wondered why the smokestacks weren't working to correct that situation.

He tied the drawstring on his pants and ate his breakfast. He ate quickly, swallowing the food with no regards for taste or enjoyment. As he finished, he caught sight of himself in the dented metal mirror above his toilet. He was 64 years old, and he looked every bit of it. His white hair hung in a tangled mess around his face. A thin, scraggly matching beard covered his chin. The skin itself was a mass of wrinkles and lines. A scar ran vertically down the left cheek, a remnant from his first days here.

But it was his eyes he noticed the most. They were still the same color he recalled from before - a liquid chocolate brown. But the warmth that had once been there, the excited spark, was completely gone from them. In their place was coldness and emptiness. It depressed the scientist more than usual.

The door unlocking again startled him from his gloom. He set aside the plate and turned to face Jackson and Torrance, back to restrain him. Jackson chuckled. "Ready to see the doctor?"

"Haven't I just?" Doc quipped humorlessly, glancing back at the mirror.

Jackson didn't get the joke. "Great. He's becoming delusional too. Come on. Get that strait-jacket on him, Torrance."

Doc gave him an icy stare. "I don't feel like seeing Dr. Adams today. I want to stay here."

Torrance backed away, apparently fearing violence from the scientist. "Don't try anything, Dr. Brown."

"Yeah, if you do, I guess we'll just have to send you back to ECT," Jackson added, his loathsome smile still in place.

ECT - 3 little letters that filled the scientist's soul with terror. In his worst nightmares he relived the agony inflicted upon him by the staff. The room - the equipment - the electricity - the pain. Especially the pain. The one moment of eternal hell he suffered as the current blasted brain cells into oblivion. He had had to go through that for most of his 2 years imprisonment here. Recently, they had stopped torturing him in an attempt to make him 'well', but Doc knew that they would start up again at the slightest report he was fighting back. ECT - electro-convulsive therapy, to the layman - was the one thing he truly feared, and all the attendants knew it.

Sighing, he allowed himself to be tied up by the nervous attendant. Torrance pulled the straps as tight as possible. "There. Now he can't get free."

"Why should I care to get free?" Doc mumbled as they took him by the arms and lead him down the hall. "The town is a recieving pit for feces anyway."

"_What_ did he just say?" Torrance asked, giving Doc a strange look.

"He means sh*thole," Jackson grumbled. "He never talks little if he can help it."

"He really is a weirdo. Didn't he blow up his own house?"

"Yeah. A mansion, and he burned it down with one of his crazy experiments. Some people even say he torched it himself. Too bad that Biff had to take so long to get him off the streets. Hill Valley's safer with him out of the picture. You don't know _what_ a looney like him could do."

Doc snorted. "_Hill Valley was beyond hope when I was so abruptly removed from it. It's _Biff_ who's safer with me committed. Not only was I part of George McFly's group, I know how Biff became one of the most powerful men in America. He came about those winnings illegally - both in the law of man and the law of the space-time continuum. He used time travel to get to where he is now, and I'm going to figure out how so I can fix the problem. In the meantime, I've got to survive here._"

Dr. Adams was waiting for them in her private office, annoyingly perky as ever. She smiled condescendingly at Doc. "Hello, Dr. Brown," she said in her squeaky voice. "How are we today?"

Doc looked at her. "I am not a child. Please cease treating me like one."

"Grumpy as usual, I see," she said, completely ignoring his request. "Please sit down and we'll discuss your progress."

Doc managed to seat himself on the couch as Dr. Adams retrieved his file. The attendants stayed near, to quiet him in case he got violent. Not that he would. All the fire in him had burned out in the 2 years he had been here. The old Dr. Brown was dead, killed by their 'treatments'. All that remained for him in terms of feeling was ennui, and the occasional burst of quiet anger.

Dr. Adams clucked her tongue as she examined the file. "Dear me, not much progress at all from last year. You don't seem to care about getting well."

"Should I?" Doc wondered. "My state of existence depends upon the whims of one man, Biff Tannen. I know it's his personal wish that I leave here only in a casket."

"That's a very negative attitude, Dr. Brown," Dr. Adams scolded. "You should care about making yourself well. The mind is very important."

"Not in here, it isn't."

"Attitude, attitude. How can I help you if you stay so negative?" She sighed. "I guess it was a miracle you stopped insisting Biff killed George McFly and that he set up a conspiracy against you. We should get started. Are you still having those memory dreams?"

Doc nodded. "Almost every night."

"It's _very_ unhealthy to live in the past. What sort of dreams are they?"

"Just dreams," Doc said dully. "About the myself of the past."

"Before you became ill?"

"According to your warped standards, yes."

"Warped standards? Anyone who burns down their own house and skipped 4 grades in school is a candidate for insanity in my book. How about your pyromaniac urges?"

"I don't have pyromania, so none."

"I take it your delusions of persecution are holding steady."

"Firm as always," he said in a falsely chipper voice. "Biff wanted me out of the way. He does something to neutralize all threats to his empire. For some reason, he saw me as such."

"You _were _part of George McFly's scheme to overthrow him. How anyone could doubt the wonderful things Biff Tannen has done for this town is beyond me. Just look at his industry! It earns so much money. . . ."

Doc sighed and leaned his head back as Dr. Adams dissolved into a hero-worshipful speech about the greatness of Biff. "_Why do I put up with it?_" he thought wearily. "_2 years of talking to her, enduring Jackson, and having my brain cells killed is 2 years too many. I'm dead inside, why not be dead outside, too? A straight razor and 10 minutes alone - that's all I ask._"

"Are you listening, Dr. Brown?"

Doc lifted his head to look at her frowning face. "Why?"

"I asked if you thought Biff was still a criminal."

"He is. He cheats. Or, at least, he cheated."

"Well, I suppose that's some progress," Dr. Adams said, making notes. "When you first came here, the very mention of Biff made you fly into a rage. You would have been insisting that he had us all brainwashed except you. Besides, how could he cheat? No man can know the future."

Doc couldn't help but chuckle. Images from a happier past flashed through his mind briefly. "Maybe he can. I wouldn't put it past him."

"Dr. Brown, why are you so cynical? You should be happy, like me."

"_That's happiness. Huh, I thought it was nicer than that._" "I've got no reason to be happy. I'm a bachelor at 64, I've been committed for God's sake, and I have no friends. Would _you_ be happy, doctor?"

"I'd be happy to be alive. Always look on the bright side, that's my motto." She pulled out a stack of papers. "We've got some new Rosarches. Let's see what you make of them."

Doc emptily answered her questions as she showed him each blot of ink. It was like this every time he visited her. There would be a brief discussion, a stack of inkblots, then a lecture. For once, he wanted even the smallest bit of variety in his life.

15 minutes later, the inkblots were _finally_ over. Dr. Adams made some final notes, then leaned forward with a dissatisfied frown. "You've given up. You don't care about anything anymore. That's not good. You should care about your health. You should let me help you become well. But you don't. What is wrong with you? Why is all my good advice to you ignored? Why don't you care? Do you want to die instead of become well? Suicides go to hell. And when you're in hell, you'll wish you'd listened to me."

Doc ignored her. He'd heard variations of this speech almost every time he'd come. It was permanently branded into his subconscious. Dr. Adams sighed, irritated. "Take him back to his room. I've got real patients to see."

Jackson yanked him to his feet. "Come along, crazy."

Doc followed passively as they led him back to his cell. Torrance loosened the straps on his jacket a bit to allow the scientist a little movement. Then they withdrew, Jackson locking the door. "Have fun," he mocked through the intercom.

Doc fell back onto his bed. He stared blankly at the ceiling. It was hard to believe he had been in here for 2 years 5 months, 3 weeks, and 4 days. The days seemed to blend together in this static environment. It seemed like yesterday that he had been brought in, struggling to get free. Those first few days had been hard on him, what with Dr. Adams trying to explain to him how lucky he was to be in her capable hands. And when that didn't work, they had decided to fry his brain. He still remembered how terrifying that first experience had been, tied down, a slimy conductant on his temples, the electrodes taped to his skull. . . .

Doc shoved the memory away. Instead he concentrated on happier times, when Biff was still powerless. The excitement of discovery, the thrill of learning -

The pain of loneliness. The hurt of rejection. The sadness of being labeled "Town Freak".

Doc shoved those away too and turned himself onto his side. He debated going to sleep. Dreams were his only respite from the pain of life. It was a quiet he could get nowhere else.

A yell from an attendant startled him briefly from his thoughts. "Hey, Marty, hurry up! We don't have all day! Those interns will be here any moment!"

_Marty. . . ._

Doc shut his eyes. God, he missed that kid. According to his mental calendar, they should have met at least 2 years ago. They should have had a fruitful friendship, strong enough to let Marty risk the future for Doc's life. He should have built his time machine by now. Nothing should have turned out the way it did. But Biff, by doing whatever he had, had ruined everything. By marrying Lorraine and sending Marty away to Europe, he had assured that their friendship could never be. That would eventually turn out to be a huge mistake for all involved, but right now the only person it was hurting was Doc.

He opened his eyes and decided to stop thinking. Whenever he thought, he ended up feeling the pain he had buried deep inside. He was depressed enough as is. He didn't need to make it deeper.

He lay there, staring vacantly into space, for a long time. The intern tour came and went without his noticing. Lunch was served, but he ignored it. Jackson tried to get a rise out of him, but was unsuccessful. He just lay there.

Then, at 5: 00 P. M., something grabbed his attention. It was a rather loud argument between Dr. Adams and some unidentified man. Curious in spite of himself, Doc lifted his head to listen.

"I'm telling you, Dr. Long, this is a mistake! You're putting here with the worst of the patients, a paranoid schizophrenic with tendencies towards pyromania! What if he comes out of his quiet state? She could get hurt! He needs to be in total isolation!"

"Dr. Adams, she's a new addition, and all the cells are full up. His cell is the only one big enough to fit in a second cot. You said yourself he's always drugged and restrained to prevent violent acting out. And she's catatonic herself. He won't find much to interest him in her. I don't like it any more than you do, but we've got nowhere else to put her. Later we can set up a screen or something like that."

They approached his cell. "You're making a mistake," Dr. Adams warned as they unlocked his door.

"We've got no other choice. All other options have been exhausted." He nodded to the attendants behind him. "Move his bed."

Doc looked at Dr. Long, an Asian man, confused. "What's going on?"

"The rest of the cells are full. We recently received a new inmate from another asylum. Due to all other options being unviable, you're getting a roommate."

Doc stared. A roommate? He'd have to share his cell - the one place he had to himself? It wasn't the best place, but at least he was alone there. "_Figures,_" he thought, pissed. "_Nothing can be mine anymore. Not even my hell._"

The attendants dragged Doc and bed closer to the toilet. They left to retrieve a cot from the hall and set it up. Then another attendant came in, carrying a young woman.

Despite his anger, Doc found himself interested in the woman. She was attractive in her own way - not a model, but more pretty-plain. Her dirty blond hair was a tangled mess, like his, and she wore standard regulation clothes. But she had a pleasant, open face, and - to Doc's amazement - she was smiling in her sleep.

The attendant lowered her gently onto the cot. She murmured a little and turned over, her face facing the wall. Doc couldn't help but feel rejected. He looked away, returning to the empty place in his brain. The doctors and attendants, after making sure of the strength of Doc's strait-jacket, left them alone. Doc lay back down.

Suddenly, he heard a voice. "Hello."

He turned over to see the woman awake, and looking at him. Her eyes were fascinating - a perfect green, with faint flecks of blue. Doc got the feeling you could lose yourself in those eyes. "Who are you?"

Doc hadn't intended to answer, but her gentle gaze had cast a spell on him. "Emmett. Dr. Emmett Brown. What's your name?"

"Josephine. Josephine Grey. I take it you're my roommate. I didn't think they did that in mental hospitals."

"They usually don't," Doc replied, shocked at how open he felt towards her. "They had no choice in this case." He cocked his head, studying Josephine. She was pretty average, as far as he could tell. And yet, something about her attracted him. Maybe it was because he hadn't seen a woman besides Dr. Adam in 2 years. "I thought you were catatonic."

"I sleep most of the day," Josephine shrugged. "They interpet that as catatonia." She glanced up and down his body, giving him a quick appraisal. "What's wrong with you?"

"Paranoid schizophrenia, with tendencies towards pyromania," Doc reported. Then, without meaning to, he added, "The real reason was that Biff Tannen doesn't want me to damage his empire."

"Sounds similar to what happened to me. My sister is afraid of me, so she put me in here. How old are you, Dr. Brown?"

"64." It felt so strange to be talking to her so openly, especially since he had only met here 10 seconds ago. But it also felt right. Her eyes made him feel like he could tell her anything. He could trust her completely. It was like being hypnotized in a way. "Why are you here, Miss Grey?"

"They couldn't 'cure' me at my old hospital. This place supposedly has an excellent record. We'll see." She looked at his strait-jacket. "That must be very uncomfortable."

"I'm used to it." Doc shook his head. "You must have an amazing gift with people. Normally I would ignore you. I haven't talked this much to anyone in a year."

Josephine smiled. "I have that effect on others. You feel comfortable around me, don't you?" Doc nodded. "Like you could trust me with your life, if need be. You can, Dr. Brown. I befriended a lot of people in my day. You can open up to me whenever you want."

That was going far too fast for his taste. Doc felt the openness fade, replaced with his usual distrust. "That's all right, Miss Grey," he said, reverting to his cold politeness. "I'm quite used to keeping my feelings inside. I won't bother you with them." He turned away from her too-friendly gaze.

Josephine seemed a little hurt, but also seemed to understand she was rushing things. I don't mind. I'm willing to wait. Share when you're ready, Dr. Brown. I promise I'll listen and not judge. I know what being judged is like." With that, she lay down and closed her eyes.

She stayed that way until dinner. Leering openly, Jackson offered her some food. Josephine surprised them all by politely refusing everything but a glass of water. Doc, briefly free to eat, looked at her oddly. "I can't eat the food. It'll make me sick," she said, answering his unspoken question. 

She watched as Jackson and his cronies restrained Doc for the night. Jackson grinned at Josephine when he was through. "You'll be safe now, honey. Just don't let him up." He reached over and touched her face. "You're pretty, girl. I think I might want to get to know you better."

Josephine just gave him a cold stare. Jackson snorted and locked the door.

Josephine watched them as they traveled down the hall. Her eyes, due to some trick of the light, appeared to glow a bright green. "If he tries to 'get to know me better', he's going to get a big surprise," she muttered, her pleasant demeanor momentarily gone. Then it was back as she looked at Doc. "Do you want me to loosen those?"

"That's okay, Miss Grey," Doc said, keeping himself aloof. "I'm used to sleeping like this."

"Still, it can't be comfortable."

"I manage."

She shrugged, then looked out the small window at the now-smoky sky. "I remember when you could see the stars out there," she sighed. "Bright lamps shining in the dark velvet of the night. Night is a magical time for me. Everything is quiet at night. You feel relaxed, yet powerful. Strong. You feel like the world is yours, that you can do anything and the inky blackness will protect you. It's beautiful. I'm really myself at night." 

She smiled at him. It was a different smile than before. Her previous smile had been innocent and sweet. There was something seductive, something predatory, in this one. Doc unconsciously drew back.

The smile changed back to the gentle one. "You don't want to hear me blabber on, I'm sure. Go to sleep. I'll just watch the night through the window." She went back to looking at the sky.

Doc turned his head away from Josephine. What had started out as a typical day for him had become decidedly atypical. It wasn't everyday you got a roommate in the psycho ward. Especially one that didn't eat, loved the night, and could make you open up to her with just a glance.

Doc realized something as he closed his eyes. His new roommate scared him. A lot.

Okay, I'm breaking with my own protocol here to ask a favor. When you review, please, SUGGEST A TITLE!


	2. Josephine's Not What She Appears

Chapter 2

Monday, November 18th, 1985

Hill Valley

5: 34 P. M.

Doc watched as Josephine stirred. When he'd woke up that morning, she had already been asleep. He had been glad of that. It had spared him her weirdness most of the day. Jackson, however, had obviously become smitten with her, and had made a habit of hanging around at meals to drool at her. It was annoying to have to have prolonged contact with him. Doc could only shudder at what Jackson might have done had he _not_ been there.

Josephine moved in a lazy stretch. Her green eyes opened, found his, and a smile appeared on her face. "Hi," she yawned, looking out the window at the green-tinted clouds.

"Hello. Did you enjoy your sleep?"

"Yes, I did." She noted the strait-jacket he was tied into again. "Don't they ever let you loose?"

"I'm dangerous," Doc said sarcastically. "I might snap at any time." That spell was coming over him. What _was _it about her? How could she make him open right up?

Josephine chuckled briefly, then grew serious again. "It's not right. In your room you can't hurt anybody."

"With you here I could."

That predatory, seductive smile made another appearance. "I think I could defend myself. In fact, maybe it's _me_ they should be afraid of." She moved closer to him. "Let me take that off you. It's not right to confine you like that."

Doc felt that fear of her surge through him. Her ability to switch from sweet to seductive made him nervous. "Well, Miss Grey," he started, squirming away from her, "I appreciate your kind offer-"

"Stop being so polite. It makes you sound like a zombie. And call me Josephine."

"I'm afraid I lost the ability to feel properly at least 2 years ago. Feelings only bring pain in this world. There's enough of it physically for me to not want the emotional kind. So, in fact, you are talking to a zombie."

Josephine sighed, then smiled again. "I could get you to feel again," she said, her eyes meeting his. "I'm good at stuff like that."

"Please don't. I don't enjoy feeling." He smiled in his empty way. "Wait, that's a paradox. How can I enjoy something if I don't feel?"

Josephine didn't answer his question. "You'd enjoy the feeling you'd get from me," she whispered, voice suddenly soft and sexy. Her eyes seemed more compelling than usual. "Let me make you feel."

That sealed it for Doc. His new roommate was a dangerous lunatic, judging from her actions. And it appeared she suffered from a touch of nymphomania as well. "Are you offering me yourself?"

"If you want me. I'm offering you pleasure, Dr. Brown. Emmett." She leaned closer to him. "Pleasure of the purest kind."

Doc felt his heart speed up. "_Distraction, I need a distraction!_" "Please, Josephine, just leave me alone. You're fighting a losing battle. It's better for me if I lock up my feelings. Leave me alone."

"I can't," she purred, her lips next to his ear. "I'm-"

Abruptly she stopped and looked toward the door. "Jackson," she hissed, looking irritated. "Figures he'd come along. Well, I can wait." She settled herself on her bed, arms folded petulantly. "I can wait."

Doc blinked. He didn't hear or see anyone in the hall. "_Must be a mood swing, thank God,_" he shrugged it off. At least she wasn't paying any attention to him anymore. He let himself zone out, shoving his feelings down again.

A few minutes later, Jackson appeared, surprising Doc. How had Josephine known he was coming? He unlocked the door and came in, carrying a plate of food. "You gotta eat, honey," he said snakily. "We wouldn't want you to lose any meat off those bones." He took her arm and gently squeezed it. "You're skinny enough as-is."

Josephine jerked his arm out of his grasp with a glare. Jackson just smiled. "You're a change from those female doctors. I liked those spirited types. I like to _tame_ them." With that, he forced himself on the girl. Doc looked away, disgusted. "_Poor girl._"

Suddenly, Jackson found himself against the door. Josephine had shoved him off her with terrific strength. Her eyes appeared to be glowing again. "Don't you _touch_ me," she growled, upper lip curled. Instead of being pretty, she looked _dangerous_. "I warn you, if you _ever_ do that again, I'll hurt you. Badly. So leave me alone." She picked up her plate and threw it to the ground. "And take your slop with you."

Jackson glared at her. "You'll be sorry you said that, b*tch," he snarled, picking up the plate. "I'll make it so your life is worse than _his_. And I'll have my way with you no matter what."

With that, he left, locking the door with a bang. Doc looked after him. "I'd be careful, Josephine. He can easily make-"

Doc wasn't sure how it happened, but it did. Suddenly, Josephine was on top of him, having seemingly teleported herself there. Her eyes were glowing a brilliant, hypnotic green, and fangs protruded from her jaw. "Now, where were we?" she asked in that dangerously sexy voice.

Doc stared, eyes wide in horror. What was in front of him should not, _could_ not exist. Yet it did, and it had him trapped. "_It can't exist, it can't exist, it can't exist. . . ._"

"I exist," Josephine said, playfully running her fingers through his hair. "And I've got you feeling again, like I said I would. Granted, terror wasn't the emotion I was going for, but it's a start."

"What are you?" he managed to say, his voice a mere shadow of it's former self.

"What else? A vampire," she giggled. She took his face in her hands. "Relax, Emmett. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Why don't I believe that?"

She made him look into her eyes. Doc struggled, damning the strait-jacket that kept his arms bound. "Relax," she soothed, stroking his hair again. "Rest, Emmett. Don't fight my will. You'll only exhaust yourself. Rest and obey."

"I'll do no such thing," Doc snapped, fighting her grip.

"Oh yes, you will. You will because I tell you to. You will obey." She focused her eyes more directly on his. "You _will_ obey."

His heartbeat seemed to echo in his ears. Doc felt his mind start to cloud. Frightened, he fought as hard as he could against her will. "Leave me alone," he begged, terrified. "Please leave me alone."

"I'm sorry, Emmett, I can't. It'll be easier for you if you just relax and let your mind go blank."

Doc glared, determined not to let her win. "God damn it, LEAVE ME ALONE!" he screamed, using false bravado. "I won't let you take over!"

Josephine frowned. "Jesus, you've got a strong will. I haven't met someone like you in ages." Her shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry. Normally I wouldn't try to force you to obey like this, but I haven't eaten properly for years. Please, Emmett, I'm so hungry, and you smell so good. . . . Just like a fine wine."

Doc was still trying to process the fact that she was a vampire. "I still don't understand. How can you be a vampire? Vampires don't exist."

"I exist. Vampires aren't anything like the movies portray us to be."

A thought occurred to him. If she really _was_ a vampire, she might be better than a straight razor. "Will you kill me with your feeding? Assuming this isn't a psychosis."

"No. I only take about a pint at a time." She patted his back. "I promise it'll be pleasant. You'll like it. You deserve some pleasure. Life's given you nothing but pain."

"How do you know?"

She smiled. "It's one of the perks of being what I am. Vampires are also accomplished telepaths. I read your mind last night."

Doc shook his head. "I must be hallucinating or dreaming. Vampire's don't exist. I'm simply having a nightmare."

Josephine bent down and kissed him. Doc reacted with shock for a moment, then felt himself slowly respond. The feelings he'd had for the opposite sex, so long buried, came back in a rush. It was like surfacing after nearly drowning, finding land after being lost at sea.

She gently separated her mouth from his. "Did that feel like a nightmare?"

"No. But it convinced me I'm dreaming. It's only when I'm unconscious that I'm permitted to feel this good."

Her fangs dipped near his neck. "It's all real, Emmett. Both that kiss and the vampire. All of it, real. Now, please. Let me drink."

Doc decided that, dream or real, he had nothing to lose. He turned his head to the side, allowing her better access to the soft flesh of his neck. Her fangs rested for a moment above his carotid artery. Then they plunged in, causing Doc to jump in pain and shock.

The pain soon vanished in a rush of pleasure. He felt all his muscles relax. The side of his neck grew warm as blood flowed there, sucked up by his roommate. His vision grew hazy, and his mind went blank.

After a few minutes, Josephine lifted her head. Doc looked at her, half-hypnotized. She smiled at him, using her will to deepen his trance. "Rest, Emmett. Stay limp." She lay down on top of him, resting her head on his chest. "You taste good. Nice and unpolluted."

"Unpolluted?" Doc repeated, his voice somewhat dull. His gentle ministrations had entranced him, and his mind was extremely foggy.

"No drugs," she clarified for him. "Drug addicts always left a nasty aftertaste in my mouth." She pressed her ear against his heart. "You make a nice pillow, too."

"I'm glad I do." Doc squirmed in his strait-jacket, eyes sliding closed. He forced them open. "I still can't believe you're real, and not a woman suffering from a mental disorder."

"Most people don't think I'm real when they first meet me. And most quickly forget that I am, if they learn. I hypnotize it out of them."

"Will you hypnotize it out of me?"

"I don't know. You're a special case, Emmett." She snuggled into him. "I imagine you're curious about me."

"Less than you might imagine. That could be due to the sleepiness."

"Probably. I'll tell you anyway. I'm very old. I'm from the times of Ancient Rome, actually. One of the first vampires to walk the earth. I'm extremely powerful."

Doc managed to wake himself up a little. "If you're so powerful, why don't you just leave? Why suffer the indignity of a mental institution?"

"Because it's safer than facing my sister. She's a vampire too, but she's my complete opposite. Like the proverbial 'evil twin'. She wants to destroy me. I've nearly been burned to death twice by her. It's easier to stick it out in here."

Doc lifted his head to look at her. A real vampire, one who had just taken his blood. He remembered his earlier thought. The urge gripped him tight. "Josephine?"

"Hmm?"

"Kill me."

Josephine jerked her head up, startled. Her eyes had faded back to her natural green, but her fangs still jutted out from her mouth. "What?" she asked, clearly shocked.

"Kill me. I don't want to live. I haven't wanted to live for years. Seeing as you're a vampire, you could end my life quickly and pleasantly."

"I will do no such thing!" Josephine said angrily. "I've made it a point not to kill others. And you're not going to be the one who makes me violate my principles. With any luck, that'll be Jackson, that slimy reptile."

"Josephine, _please_." Doc knew he sounded pathetic, but he didn't care. She couldn't _do_ this to him! She was his ticket out of here! 'You said you read my mind. You know about my life. Even when I _wasn't_ imprisoned in here, I was hurting. I want to die. Life has nothing more for me. I want to die."

Josephine leaned in, her eyes focused on his. "No. I can't and I won't kill you. Forget that thought."

Doc felt the urge start to fade from his mind. He tried to pull it back, but, in his weakened state, her will was too strong. "But why?" he demanded.

A few tears slid down Josephine's cheeks. "Because - because I - I love you."

Doc blinked, shock reigning supreme in his mind for the second time that night. "_What_?! We've known each other for barely a day!"

"I know, but. . . . It's like lightning, Emmett. When you just _know_ someone's right for you. You're right for me. You're intelligent, loving, funny, and strong-willed. Granted, it takes a little digging to find your feelings and sense of humor, but they're still there." Her eyes met his again. "Tell me everything, Emmett. Feel again for me. Be the old you. You were a wonderful man in your youth."

"My old self died shortly after I came in here. See this scar?" He showed her the scar on his cheek. "Two weeks after I was forcibly brought in here, I tried to escape. I bolted when they served me breakfast. I almost made it, but another attendant with a cart got in my way. We collided, and my cheek was sliced open by the glass. Shortly after I got my first taste of electro-convulsive therapy." Doc shivered with the memory. "It's like I said before. I only feel pain. It's better for all if I ignore them."

Josephine's lips met his again. "Can you feel love? For me, in both senses? I can help you feel. Help you heal. I've got all the time in the world, Emmett."

Doc leaned into her. "I've got time to spare." He squirmed in the strait-jacket again, annoyed that he couldn't hold her. Josephine seemed to sense this and reached behind him. She undid the straps and loosened all the restraints. Doc slid his arms around her. Maybe life wasn't so bad after all.

Josephine gently nibbled his neck. "That's right, annoyance is on the right track. But I want the happy emotions too. Tell me everything about you, Emmett. Fill in the blanks of your story."

Nestled in her arms, partly hypnotized, Doc couldn't resist. He spilt his guts, telling her about his parents and the bullies at school. He told her about getting his degrees and becoming a scientist. He told her about his experiments and his great revelation on November 5th, 1955. He even told her about Marty and the mess he had caused that fateful week. She was fascinated. "Time travel? Really?"

"Hey, if you're a vampire, anything's possible," Doc shrugged. It was all coming back to him, despite the destruction of his brain. For a moment, he felt warm inside as he recalled the good times with Marty. Then it faded as he naturally pushed the emotion back.

"I suppose that's true." She stroked his hair, smiling, her fangs retracting. "Feeling better?"

"A little." A sudden stab of panic went through him, then vanished. "No. If it had been the date, nothing would exist today."

"Pardon?"

Doc looked at her. He had already told her about Marty; what the heck. "Josephine, Marty came from 30 years in the future. That's _this_ year."

Josephine became confused. "But - but you've been committed since 1983. At least, that's what I've heard."

"Exactly! I never finished my time machine. And to compound the problem, I also never met the version of Marty who would meet me for the first time. That is to say, I never met a younger version. This October 26th came and went quite ordinarily for me - if you can call being locked up 'ordinary'," he added a little bitterly.

Josephine still looked confused. "I don't understand how Marty can go back and meet you in the 50s if you never met him in the 80s."

"You've put your finger on it, Josephine. It's a paradox. And I suspect we have a worse one in the works. Courtesy of Biff Tannen."

Josephine paled. "Biff Tannen has a time machine? God, we're all screwed. . . ."

Doc shook his head rapidly. "No, nothing quite so horrible as that. I doubt Biff has the brains to construct a time machine. This is my theory. Before all this happened, the time-line took a different path, with a me who properly built a time machine and sent Marty back. Somehow the unaltered time-line's Biff found out about the time machine and managed to steal it. It wouldn't surprise me if he had killed the first me to do it. He went back into the past and gave himself information on how to admass a fortune. Judging from what I spotted in a newspaper picture, it appears to have been a sports book. Using this information, Biff altered the time-line into what it is today. There's just one problem. For the paradox's loop to be perpetuated, I have to build a time machine. And I never did. Therefore, the day Biff was supposed to steal it and go back, the paradox will - activate, I suppose is the best word."

Doc took a breath. "Amazing. I haven't talked like that in forever." He chuckled, letting the emotion come in a weakened form. "I missed it, frankly."

"You certainly seem to like complicated theories," Josephine smiled, having barely kept up with his explanation. "That sounds disturbing. What happens when we reach the paradox?"

"The universe self-destructs. Granted, that's the worse-case scenario. The damage could be located to merely our galaxy."

"What a relief," Josephine said sarcastically. She looked into his eyes and frowned. "Well, you're tough. I never met anyone who could hold back thoughts as much as you."

"If I let them all out at once, my mind will be over-stimulated, I'm sure," Doc said. "You've got a knack for drawing them out of me, though. You genuinely scared me last night, and today."

"I don't want fright and pain. I want you to smile." She got an idea. "Emmett, look into my eyes. Come under my power. I think I can help."

Doc fought her will again for a moment, then stopped. Her eyes burned into his with an intense light. His heartbeat grew in amplitude until it blocked all other sounds. It grew too hard to think, and he let his mind go.

"That's it, Emmett. Rest. Relax all your muscles." She tenderly framed his face with her hands. "I'm going to get rid of that nasty reflex of pushing down your emotions. You're going to fall asleep soon. Into a deep, comfortable sleep. You will dream about your life and relive many events from it. Every emotion you feel in the dreams will be unusually strong, and you will not be able to push it away. You will have no nightmares, however. You will feel sad in your dreams, but you will not feel fear. You will sleep deeply and quietly. When you awake, you will be able to feel the emotions from your dreams. You will not be able to hold them back any longer. Do you understand what I just told you?"

Doc nodded silently, eyes blank. "Then obey. Sleep and dream, Emmett. Sleep and dream."

Doc's eyes slid closed. Josephine patted him on the arm and adjusted his still form. She had never met anyone like him before. No one had been as intelligent and personable has him. He was the man she had wished for before her transformation. A man she could easily share eternity with. She was determined to help him regain what he had lost, for her own sake as much as his. "Sleep well, my love," she whispered in the alien tongue of ancient Rome. "And tomorrow, we'll explore each other." She kissed him, then went to the window to look out at the night.


	3. The Horror Of Electroshock

Chapter 3

Wednesday, November 20th, 1985

Hill Valley

5: 33 P. M.

Doc sat happily on his bed, watching Josephine breathe. Yesterday had been simply amazing. He had woken up from a night of intense dreams to Jackson's usual pleasant demeanor. He had found himself hating the man intensely, and when he tried to push the emotion away, he couldn't! He had lost the ability to bury feelings within himself. For a few minutes, Doc had tried to cope with the influx of fear and hatred.

Then his thoughts had turned to Josephine. He had immediately felt a warm glow of happiness. Getting himself under control, he had concentrated on ignoring the outside world and focused on the happy memories he had so long rejected. It had been pleasant to finally feel actual emotions, instead of the watered-down versions he was used to. He had actually scared Jackson by grinning at him when he came to deliver lunch. And when Josephine woke up, they had talked well into the night. She was an excellent conversationalist, if Doc said so himself. It had been simply incredible. And now, he felt good enough to take on Biff Tannen.

He was humming in expectation of another wonderful night when he heard the cell door open. Jackson came in, followed by Dr. Adams, Donald, and another strange attendant. Dr. Adams had a very serious look on her face. "Hello, Dr. Brown."

"Hi. Have you come to install the screen?" That barrier wouldn't be too much of a problem. Not with his dear Josie here.

Dr. Adams shook her head, still deadly serious. "No, Dr. Brown. This is about your sudden attitude change."

Doc grinned. It was an unfamiliar action to him, and was lopsided due to his scar. But it was a genuine 'Doc' smile. "You told me to cheer up. I did. Is that so bad?"

"Maybe. It could mean your schizophrenia is coming out of remission. This seems like a mood swing to me."

Doc snorted. "Or maybe my roommate's in love with me and taught me how to cheer up. You're not satisfied with anything I do, even if it's taking your advice."

Dr. Adams clucked her tongue. "Just as I suspected. Delusional. You know what this means, Dr. Brown." She nodded to the attendants. "Take him down to room 101."

Room 101?

_THE ELECTRO-CONVULSIVE ROOM!_

Terror flooded Doc's body. He squirmed to the far side of the room. Jackson tackled him and tried to drag him out. Doc struggled as hard as he could, kicking and biting his captors. "No! You can't do that to me again! Not the 'therapy'! Not electroshock! Josephine! Josephine, help me!"

Josephine didn't stir. They had talked into the wee morning hours, and she was sleeping late. The attendants, swearing heartily, managed to lift him and bring him out to a table outside. They strapped him down with difficulty. Desperate, Doc kept screaming, hoping against hope he could break the trance of sleep. "Help! Josie, wake up! Josie! Help me!" He broke down into tears as they wheeled him away. "Help me. . . ."

"That's what we're doing, Dr. Brown. Helping you," Dr. Adams soothed, reaching out to touch him.

Doc glared at her through his tears. "Don't you dare touch me, b*tch," he growled, moving as much as his bonds would allow. "I wish you were down here in my place!"

Dr. Adams smacked his face, her expression dark. "Control your tongue! I could easily arrange a lobotomy for you!" Doc just snarled.

They wheeled him into the dreaded room. Doc looked in fright at the all-too-familiar equipment. "_NO. . .they can't do this to me again. . .THEY CAN'T DO THIS TO ME AGAIN!_" He thrashed, trying in terror to loosen his bonds. Jackson hit him in the stomach with his baton and held him down. Doc managed to sink his teeth into his arm and was very satisfied to hear him yowl.

A nurse spread conductant on his temples and began taping electrodes to the skull. Doc made a final effort to get free. "NO! PLEASE, NO!"

"Calm down, Dr. Brown," Dr. Adams said, smiling. "This will simply be like restarting your brain." She confirmed the electrodes were in place.

"DAMN IT, YOU CAN'T DO THIS! JOSEPHINE!"

Dr. Adams motioned for the switch to be thrown. Doc felt current blast through his brain. His muscles stopped moving, locked in painful contortions. There was that moment of pure agony as his brain was jumpstarted by the electricity.

Then, mercifully, he blacked out.

Wednesday, November 20th

6: 00 P. M.

Josephine woke from her sleep. She smiled, not opening her eyes. Her post-hypnotic suggestion had worked perfectly, and she was looking forward to another long and stimulating chat with Doc. Her love for him had only grown as she learned more about him. She opened her eyes. He was just so smart and interesting and. . .

Absent.

Puzzled, Josephine looked around, confirming what her ears and nose had already impressed upon her. She was alone in the room. Doc was nowhere in sight. Had they moved him to another room? No, his bed was still in place, although the covers were tangled terribly. Had they taken him away to visit Dr. Adams? That seemed unlikely too, as he had told her his weekly visits were on Sundays. That was 4 days away. So what had happened to him?

Footsteps warned her of approaching doctors. She lay down and faked catatonia, making sure her eyes appeared blank. The door was unlocked, and she could hear Jackson swearing. "Serves the bastard right. He _bit_ me! Now I gotta go see the doctor!" Josephine barely held back a snigger.

The attendants carried in an unconscious Doc. His body was twitching, and he was moaning deeply. Shocked horror filled the vampire. It had to be a dose of electro-convulsive therapy. Nothing else could have done that to her dear Emmett.

They laid him down on the bed, gave her a visual once-over, and went on their way. Once they were out of earshot, Josephine sprang up and went to assist her beloved. She pulled off the strait-jacket with terrific force and slapped his face a few times. "Emmett. Emmett, wake up."

Doc moaned again, showing no signs of returning to the real world. Josephine wet a sleeve of the jacket and wiped Doc's forehead with it. "Come back to me, Emmett."

Doc slowly stirred, his body aching all over. "No. . .," he whispered. "Not more electro-convulsive. . . ."

"Shh. . . ." Josephine soothed, still wiping his forehead. "Everything's going to be just fine."

With his mind in it's recently shocked state, Doc thought the soothing words came from Dr. Adams. Pissed, he tried to force his muscles to move. "Go away. . . . I want Marty. . . . I want Josephine. . . ."

"It's me, Emmett, it's Josie," she said, understanding. Her telepathy was picking up major electrical discharges in Doc's brain. It would be impossible to think clearly under those circumstances.

"I want Marty. . . . Don't let them hurt Marty. . . . Don't let them hurt Josephine. . . ."

"It's okay, Emmett. I'm fine. And they can't get to Marty."

Doc's eyes finally obeyed his will and opened. They were glazed and filled with pain. He looked so vulnerable, Josephine couldn't help but want to mother him. "Josie? Where's Marty?"

She kissed him tenderly. "I'm right here, Emmett. And Marty's - Marty's fine."

"Where is he?"

Josephine debated having him hallucinate his friend, but didn't want to cause further stress in his brain. "Marty's away. They can't get to him." She bit into her wrist and watched as the blood pooled out. "Drink this," she commanded, holding the wound to his lips.

Doc gagged. "No. No blood."

"It'll help you. Please drink it. I can only will the wound open for so long."

Doc hesitated an instant more. She applied a slight hypnotic pressure to his mind. Giving in, he drank. After a minute though, he shoved it away. "No more."

"Hush." Her eyes looked deep into his. "Relax. It'll take time for you to heal." She gently pressed her fingers to his temples and willed the healing power of her blood toward the injured brain matter. Doc felt a tingling sensation in his scalp as blood rushed to his brain. "What. . . ?"

"Hush," she repeated, rubbing his temples a little. It was useful to be an early vampire when it came to healing. None of the younger ones could have specified where the healing was supposed to go. "You need to sleep now."

Doc fought weakly. "They'll come back. . . ."

"If they do, they'll face an extremely peeved female vampire," she told him, carefully hypnotizing him. "Rest, Emmett. Your pain is fading, and you want to rest. . . ."

In his mental state, Doc was easily entranced. Josephine stroked his hair. "Sleep, Emmett. Rest your brain. You will awaken from this sleep in 1 hour, but if I see you need more time I'll send you back to sleep. Relax."

Doc's eyes started to slide closed, but he forced them open. Weakly, he held out his arms. "Hold me, Josie," he begged, sounding pathetic. Josephine took him into her arms and rocked him like a baby. Doc began to cry. "Oh Josie. . .it was hell. . . ."

"Shh, shh," Josephine whispered. "It's over now. I won't let them near you." She glared at the door. "F**king bastards." She patted his head. "Now sleep."

Doc relaxed into hypnotic sleep. She held him tight, keeping on constant alert for the doctors. If any even tried to look at her Emmett, they would have hell to pay.

Wednesday, November 20th

7: 04 P. M.

Doc's eyes fluttered. He groaned. He had a hell of a headache. And those bastards outside never gave him aspirin. "Ow. . . ."

"Emmett?" Josephine's voice sounded extremely worried. Doc realized she was holding him and he was free of his strait-jacket. "Are you all right?"

"Better than before," he mumbled, remembering how she had woken him up briefly. It was true too. Her touch, her love, and strengthened him. He looked up into those green eyes. "I'm sorry for acting so juvenile before."

"It's fine. I was surprised you could get out coherent thoughts, the way your brain was short-circuiting." She brushed the hair back from his face. "I can't believe they do that. Shoot electricity through people's skulls."

Doc nodded. "Well, they do. I don't understand how someone's supposed to benefit from having their brain cells killed, but. . . ." He sighed heavily. "That's what I get for smiling."

As he spoke, a curious sensation attracted his attention. There was another thumping in his chest. It felt like a second heartbeat. Perplexed, he looked down at his chest. Everything _seemed_ normal. Maybe he was hallucinating.

"I had you drink my blood, Emmett," Josephine explained. "It bonded you to me. What you're feeling is my heartbeat. I'm feeling yours in my chest."

Doc was amazed. "Really? Fascinating." He pressed his hands to the spot. "Am I turning into a vampire?"

"_No. That would happen only if I put my blood directly into your veins. Biting Douglas is a good remedial exercise, though._"

"Thanks," Doc said with a uneasy grin. "So how - does. . . ."

It had suddenly occurred to the scientist that his girl hadn't spoken. Josephine grinned mischievously at him. "_The bond I created gives you a few vampire powers. This is one of them. You also get stronger, can sense the presence of other vampires, and heal nonfatal injuries._"

"_Amazing,_" Doc thought, taking a few baby steps with using his side of the link. His end seemed a little staticky. "_What exactly qualifies as nonfatal?_"

"_Basically all minor injuries, but internal bruising and brain damage can be healed as well. That's why I fed you my blood. I knew it could help your brain. And I was able to force it quickly to the hurt area. It's an advantage you get if you are infected by the earlier form of the virus._"

"_Virus? Is vampirism a medical condition?_"

"_That's the general consensus. I'm just glad they didn't kill you with their 'treatment'._" 

"_They might as well have,_" Doc shuddered. "_It's the closest I've come to the torments of hell. Be grateful you've never been subjected to it._"

Josephine patted his back. "_You kept asking me for Marty when you first woke up. You really miss him, don't you?_"

"_Yeah, I do. I can't help but think of him as my son. Or, at the least, my nephew. That week in 1955 was one of the brighter moments in my life. I finally had a friend, and I couldn't wait to meet him under the correct circumstances. And when I joined George's protest group, I felt the odds of contacting him had dramatically increased. But then. . . ._" He shivered as he recalled being told of George's death, and of seeing his corpse. "_Biff got him killed so he could marry Lorraine. And all hope of being friends with Marty went out the window._"

Josephine smiled. "_He sounds like a good kid. Certainly a true friend._"

"_He was. He wrote me a letter warning me that I was going to get killed by terrorists. He was so determined to forestall my fate he risked not getting back to the future. The event never came to pass, of course, but I still treasure that document._" He adjusted his position to bring the feeling back to a numb leg. "_Actually, I _did_ get to meet Marty once. But not in the right way. George had us all come over for a meeting on September 2nd, 1968. Marty was only a little baby then. Halfway through the meeting, he had to answer the phone and Lorraine had to break up a sibling fight - Marty has a brother and a sister, both older than him. She handed Marty to me to hold._" Doc felt tears burn in his eyes, but he blinked them back. "_I swear, he recognized me. He had been bawling moments before, but he calmed right down as I held him. He looked so - different. Much smaller of course, and with wispy brown hair. . .but I knew his eyes right away. They were so trusting and innocent._" Doc smiled. "_For a minute, I got to cuddle him, then Lorraine stopped Dave and Linda from killing each other and took him back. That was the last time I ever saw my friend._"

Josephine couldn't help but feel a slight pang of jealousy toward the boy. Doc sensed this and looked her straight in the eyes. "_Stop that. I love you, Josie. I would gladly stay in here the rest of my life if it meant staying with you. But I knew Marty before, and I can't stop caring about him. Here, let me show you._" He sent her one of his favorite memories, waking up to find himself and Marty sleeping against each other.

The jealousy faded with seeing the pure 'cuteness' of the scene. Josephine giggled. "_You two were definitely made for each other. That is just so wonderful. Good thing only I can see it, though. I know of a lot of people who would claim you two were in a relationship._"

"_Don't say that, Josie. I'll vomit. I know you would have liked him._" The words he had said to Marty that night while he slept came back to him. They seemed very appropriate for his new girlfriend. He looked deep into Josephine's eyes. "Ich liebe Dich, Josephine," he whispered. "Mit allem meinem Herzen."

Josephine smiled. She understood German and knew what Doc had just said was, 'I love you, Josephine, with all my heart.' She responded in like. "I love you, too, Emmett. By both Jupiter and Venus."

Doc blinked. What had just emerged from Josephine's mouth was completely foreign to his ears. "What language was _that_?"

"Ancient Roman." She translated for him. "Speaking of Venus. . . ." She pulled off her shirt to reveal her cleavage. "I think you deserve a little reward for suffering through that torture."

Unwanted, a blush came to Doc's cheeks. Suddenly embarrassed, he tried to find an out. "Josie. . . . Do you really think - I mean, what if-"

Josephine looked at him oddly. "What's wrong?"

"I just don't know if we should. Jackson could see us, or Dr. Adams could come around. . . ." "_Great Scott, I sound just like a teenage George McFly_."

Josephine cocked her head. "Don't be nervous. It's only sex." She grinned. "The way you're acting, it's like you're never had a woman before!"

Doc's blush deepened. Josephine stared, stunned. "You're a virgin?"

"I grew up in the 20s and 30s, in a very polite society. You didn't do anything 'naughty' until you were legally married, and sometimes not even then. None of my relations with women ever got very far. Even at a young age, I was the outcast. So, yes, I'm a virgin."

"You're certainly a unique one, Emmett." She undid the string on her pants and pulled them down. Doc felt the blush darken further, if that was possible. "Oh, relax. This is supposed to be fun." She pressed herself against him, kissing him more passionately than he had ever dreamed possible. He felt his desire for her awaken, along with a few other parts. Smiling, he allowed her to strip him.

Wednesday, November 20th

8: 46 P. M.

Doc playfully tickled Josephine's ribs. She giggled madly and nipped at his fingers. They had made love many times, and had found out that each of them was a _fantastic_ lover. Now both were exhausted from their excitement - and for Doc, from minor blood loss. It turned out vampires bit their companions at climax. "God, that felt good."

Josephine kissed him. "Oh, Emmett, I would love to spend the rest of eternity with you."

"So would I," Doc said, lying against her. "I just wish we didn't have to stay in this filthy mental hospital."

Josephine looked at the walls surrounding them. Before, they had been a mere tolerable annoyance, something she had to put up with for her own safety. Now they were a horrid, deadly prison. "You know what? Neither do I." She considered snapping the bars right then and there, but refrained. "Give me a few days and I'll think of a plan to get us both out of here safely. Then we'll take to the night skies and do what we please."

Doc nodded, looking resolute. "Right. Although I might like to stay a few days and settle an old score." His eyes flashed fire as he thought of Biff.

"No objections here. Then, if you want, we'll fly to Switzerland."

"Switzerland? Why Switzerland?"

"A., all the blood there tastes like chocolate, and B., that's where I heard Marty is going to school."

Doc nodded enthusiastically. "That's a plan. Regain our freedom, rescue Marty, and then?"

"Whatever we wish. We have all the time in the world."

Doc nuzzled her. "And to think, 4 days ago I was suicidal. Now I've got freedom and an unofficial family to look forward to. I'm sure that if we put our minds to this problem, we should be able to accomplish our goal."

"You bet." They began mentally testing plans for escaping, Doc providing probability rates. Finally, they hit upon a plan that might work. All they needed was for 2 key players in their imprisonment to leave. Content to wait for now, they fell asleep in each other's arms.


	4. Everything's Not Fine

Chapter 4

Saturday, November 23rd, 1985

Hill Valley

4: 55 P. M.

Jackson roughly pushed Josephine back into her and Doc's cell, returning her from a visit to her shrink, Dr. Long. Josephine glared at him, then turned to smile at Doc. "We're all set, Emmett," she whispered, sitting down on his bed.

"What? So soon?!" Doc gasped, keeping his voice low.

"Yeah, talk about luck! Dr. Long was so desperate to snap me out of my 'catatonia' that he supplied me with all the information I needed. Dr. Adams just left for a 3-week vacation. My sister is going to leave Hill Valley - funny, I thought she loved this place. And Jackson's leaving early. I think that bite you gave him really did some damage."

Doc grinned. "Good. Revenge for all those times he's smacked me with that baton of his." He gazed at her expectantly. "Then this is it. The actualization of our plan." A little nervously, he held out his wrist. "Infect me."

Josie carefully bit open both their wrists, then pressed their wrists together tightly. Doc watched as their blood mixed together, spreading the germ into his body. "There goes my human life. Good riddance to it."

"Amen." Josephine took her wrist away and fed him some of her blood. His wounds quickly sealed up. "Now, I have to warn you, being made a vampire isn't pleasant. You get very, _very_ sick. I'll try to keep you asleep for most of it. The symptoms should show up in a few minutes."

Doc nodded, contemplating his new life with eagerness. "One more for the road?" he asked playfully. Josephine saw his invitation clearly and came into his arms. Joyfully, they made love, Doc feeling better than he had in years. Afterwards, Doc asked Josephine a few pressing questions about his immanent vampire-dom. "This point is probably moot, considering where I live, but what is the effect of sunlight on vampires?"

"Mostly sleepiness. Being like me, an 'early' vampire, you probably will sunburn more easily. Here, though, that shouldn't be a problem."

A morbid thought occurred to the scientist. "What if I get staked?"

Josephine shuddered at the memories that brought. "It's painful, but thankfully not fatal. It's fire that can do us in properly. If we're completely consumed, we can't return. Still, staking is something you want to avoid."

"I'm sure. How much blood do I need a day? You seem to feed off and on."

"Actually, that's just how we feed. Every other day. Around a pint is the normal meal, nothing that can hurt anybody. If you feel queasy at the thought of drinking from other humans, animal blood works just fine."

"And if Biff manages to find me. . . ?"

"I'm sure you know what to do in _that_ situation!" Josie laughed. "I don't know how good a snack he'd be, though. I'm sure he shoots up."

"I don't doubt it."

At 5: 12 P. M., Doc noticed that he was still sweating from their sexual encounter. His stomach was starting to roll around, making him feel nauseous. He made a face. "I don't feel quite like myself. . . ."

"It's starting to kick in, then," Josephine said sadly. "It's going to be a bumpy ride."

Doc suddenly turned pale and nodded. "I think I know how bumpy." With an unknown speed, he dashed to the toilet and gave up the contents of his stomach. Josie patted his back and helped him back onto his cot. She gently redressed him in everything but his strait-jacket, taking a moment to rub his still-aching stomach. Doc whimpered, his skin clammy. "This feels like when I got the flu at age 6. My parents were very worried about me. Influenza was a very dangerous disease back then." He licked his lips. "My mouth feels dry, too."

Josie got him some water. "Lie back and relax," she said, pouring it into his mouth. "Give me a sec and I'll hypnotize you. There's something I need to do." Doc nodded and tried to relax. Josie went to the door and spotted an attendant. She knocked on the glass to get his attention. With a smile, he walked over. "Yes?"

"Could I have some paper and a pen? I'm bored," she asked politely, applying a slight hypnotic nudge. The attendant, a fairly nice person by nature, gave her a few sheets and a ballpoint. "Thank you." She took them to her cot and set them down.

Doc looked at the pile. "What is that for?"

"To write a failsafe letter. It'll tell you all you need to know about vampirism. It's just in case something goes wrong and I can't reach you after you're buried."

"_Buried_??"

"Um - to the normal humans, it's going to look like you've died, I'm afraid."

"Great," Doc muttered sarcastically. Then he looked up at Josephine. "But it'll be worth it to be with you. I'd do anything for you." He smiled weakly.

"So would I, Emmett." She gave him a brief kiss, then put him into hypnotic sleep. Doc drifted off into a dreamland. 

The hours passed slowly. Josephine wrote her letter and made regular checks on her boyfriend. Doc usually had pleasant dreams, but she had to block a few nightmares (one about being buried alive, no surprises there). Supper arrived, which she refused. The attendant wanted to have someone examine Doc, but Josephine convinced him not to. It wouldn't do for some busybody doctor to suspect something unnatural about Doc's disease.

Doc came to briefly after a few hours to find Josie tucking something into his shirt. "Josie?" he croaked.

"Just the letter, love. How are you?"

"Sick," Doc said blandly. "And parched." Josie fetched him another glass of water. "How long will I be sick for?"

"6 hours, give or take. And you'll be in a coma for 3 days."

"You certainly know a lot about vampires."

"I admit, I always had a thing for scientists. None of them were like you, though."

Doc settled himself more comfortably on the cot. Despite himself, he was getting worried. "Do you think anything will go wrong, Josephine? I know I gave this plan a 84% probability of success, but. . . ."

"As long as they don't embalm or autopsy you, you'll be fine. And if I'm left alone for 3 days, I'll be fine too. Don't worry. You'll be out of Biff's clutches soon enough." She put him back into trance and checked the time. 4 hours to go.

Saturday, November 23rd

11: 36 P. M.

_Doc awoke from a sound sleep. A glance at the clock by the bed told him it was just sunset. Yawning, he got up and kissed the still-snoozing Josephine. "Time to arise, my love."_

_Josie's eyes fluttered open. She smiled up at Doc. "Hey there," she teased, returning the kiss with a slight nip. "Have a nice day's sleep?"_

_"Couldn't have been better. We're going to the movies tonight, aren't we?" He checked the calendar by their bed. "Yup. We are. The 7: 00 show."_

_"Well, do you think I could let myself miss Ben-Hur?" His wife yawned and stretched. "Speaking of which, you'd better go and wake up Marty. We both know how much that boy sleeps."_

_"It's one of the things I like about him."_

_"You like _everything_ about him," Josie pointed out._

_"I do not."_

_"Yes you do. You cannot find a single fault with him - or me, for that matter. You simply refuse to see any."_

_"You're my family. I'm supposed to love you to death." He kissed her again, then got up to wake Marty. Their adopted son was tangled in the sheets, sleeping in the strangest position his body could possibly manage. Doc chuckled and tapped the teen on the shoulder._

_Marty jolted awake, fear in his eyes. It was a reflex from his Biff days he hadn't quite outgrown. He calmed down immediately upon seeing who it was. "Hey, Dad," he yawned._

_Dad. The word still warmed Doc's heart and brought a smile to his face. He had always desired his own child, and now he had one. "Hi Marty." His smile lessened. "Did you have any nightmares last day? You seemed a little uneasy."_

_Marty shrugged, then nodded. "Just one. It's tough to get used to the fact I'm actually free from that bastard and have a dad again." He stretched the kinks from his muscles and wiped the drool from his mouth. "It's Ben-Hur tonight, right?"_

_"Of course. Your mother finds those 'historical' movies fascinating - and hysterical." He felt Josie slip like a shadow into the room, smiling at them. "You'll enjoy it too. Ben-Hur is a classic movie."_

_Marty smiled lopsidedly. "As long as it has subtitles. I hate when they dub the dialogue into German."_

_"We _are _in Switzerland." Doc gave Marty a hug, crushing him gently against him. "But I can understand your annoyance. I don't quite have the hang of the language yet myself."_

_Josie gently rubbed his shoulders. "It's safer here for all of us. Here, we can be a family. I _love you, Emmett."

Doc abruptly realized he was dreaming and awoke. Josephine was in reality rubbing his shoulders, which accounted for the sensation in the dream. "Were you listening in?" he rasped, feeling hot and cold at once.

"Near the end. That must have been a really nice dream for you. I hope it becomes reality." She wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his strait-jacket. "How do you feel?"

"Like shit," Doc said truthfully.

"Well, I think we're nearing crisis. It should be only a half-hour, hour tops, that you have to suffer." She kissed his sweaty forehead. "Go back to your dreams." Doc was only too happy to.

Sunday, November 24th, 1985

Hill Valley

12: 10 A. M.

Doc came awake again. For some reason, he knew he was shortly to sink into the coma state. Already his limbs felt paralyzed. As always, Josie was by his side. "Josie?" he whispered, feeling a sudden surge of fear.

"Hush. Don't be afraid." She patted his head.

His breathing began to slow. It was becoming a struggle to stay awake. "It's hard _not_ to be afraid. Weren't you afraid?"

"Yes, I was. But it isn't horrible." She lay down next to him. "Just think of it as taking a nice long nap. Everything will be fine."

His eyelids grew too heavy to stay open. He could feel his heart muscle relaxing, the beats slowing to a crawl. He managed with a humongous effort to take Josephine's hand and squeeze it. "I love you, Josephine," he breathed.

"I love you, Emmett. I'll see you in 3 days."

Doc nodded and let his eyes slide shut. In a minute, his heart and lungs appeared to stop completely. Only Josie could sense the tiny muscle movements keeping her beloved alive. She kissed his still form one final time, tied him back into his strait-jacket, and lay down on her own cot.

That morning, the attendants serving breakfast found Doc as unresponsive as Josephine. They called in the resident medical doctor to examine him. At 7: 34 A. M., Dr. Emmett Brown was pronounced officially dead. As he had no living family, the person responsible for his present state, Biff Tannen, was called instead. Glad to have a weight off himself, Biff instructed them to not bother embalming the body or anything like that. They were to give him a quick funeral and dump him in a cheap grave. The attendants untied his still form and took it away to the morgue.

Sunday, November 24th

9: 04 A. M.

"Please, Ms. Grey, I know how much you must be hurting inside. It'll be best if you let it out."

Josephine remained stubbornly unresponsive. Dr. Long sighed and stood up. "It's no use. She's completely catatonic. No sense of the real world."

Jackson, by Dr. Long's side, rubbed his arm. The bite Dr. Brown had given him was still throbbing, but it didn't hurt half as much as what she'd done to him when she'd rejected him. He decided to venture a suggestion. "Maybe we need to use something stronger, Dr. Long. Catatonia is tough to come out of."

The Asian doctor looked at Jackson. "What do you suggest?"

Jackson just concealed his grin behind a mask of concern. Now that Dr. Brown was out of the picture, he could have his revenge on Josephine. "I think electro-convulsive therapy is the way to go. A severe shock to her brain could be just the ticket to waking her up."

Dr. Long looked at his unresponsive patient. "You could be right, Jackson. I'll schedule some in for tomorrow. Having your roommate die suddenly is a traumatic experience. I don't want to aggravate her condition by pressing her."

Jackson nodded and smiled obediently. Today would have been better, but tomorrow would suit him just fine. "Of course, Doctor."

Monday, November 25th, 1985

Hill Valley

9: 00 A. M.

Josephine became aware she was moving. Groggily, she opened her eyes and looked discreetly around. She was flat on her back, tied down, being wheeled away from her cell. "_I wonder what's happening. Should I risk it and start talking?_"

Jackson's leering face came into view. "Hi, honey," he said, licking her face. Josephine couldn't repressed a shudder in revulsion. "I told you I'd make your life a living hell. You're going to room 101."

Josephine got worried. What was in room 101? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good if Jackson liked it. She carefully tested her bonds for looseness. If worse came to worst, she might have to make a quick escape.

They pushed her into the room. Josie kept her expression vacant as she glanced around. None of the equipment visible was familiar to her. "_Keep on your guard, good. You don't know what they're going to do. Make sure you're ready for them._"

A nurse spread some tingly, sloppy stuff on her temples. A rubber biscuit was pushed into her mouth. What felt like electrodes were taped to her -

"_IT'S THE ELECTRO-CONVULSIVE ROOM! THEY'RE GOING TO TRY AND FRY MY BRAINS!_"

Jackson noted her beginning struggles. "Relax, baby," he cooed, pressing his weight down on her. "Nothing to worry about. You're just following in your precious Dr. Brown's footsteps." He licked her again. "If you'd given yourself to me, all this could have avoided.

Josephine glared at him, eyes aglow with rage. She had been right - Jackson was going to get her to violate her principles. She snapped her bonds like they weren't even there and sat up. Jackson had one moment to gawk at this before she snapped his neck. The nurse, terrified of being next, did the thing she was trained to do. She pulled the lever.

Current rocked Josephine's brain. She collapsed back onto the gurney. Jackson slumped to the floor, his head at an odd angle. Two doctors rushed up to get him to the hospital, but both knew it was mere formality. Jackson was definitely dead.

After a minute, the nurse switched off the current and cautiously approached the prostrate Josie. She didn't react to anything, and when the nurse took her pulse, she found none. Hysterical, she ran for the doctor. Just as ignorant of vampires as before, he pronounced her dead at 9: 13 A. M.

Biff Tannen was called again. Annoyance at being interrupted in his activities two days in a row quickly turned to shock as he learned how the equipment had killed someone. Fearing bad publicity, he immediately approved money for new electro-convulsive equipment. That taken care of, the doctor called Josephine's sister, Lacy, with the sad news.

"Hello?" Lacy's voice was rough.

"Is this Lacy Grey?"

"Yes?"

"This is Dr. Mark Messenger from Southdale Asylum, Ms. Grey. I'm afraid your sister is dead. She was killed by improper use of the electro-convulsive therapy equipment. She had broken from her catatonia and was violently acting out when the nurse turned on the equipment. I'm deeply sorry for your loss."

A smile curved Lacy's lips. Finally, a chance to move on without worrying about that goody-two-shoes sister of hers. What a relief. She forced sadness into her voice. "Oh, God, poor Josie. . . . Horrible, simply horrible. . . . My dear sister. . . ."

"This may sound improper, but how do you want your sister interred?"

"Burial?" Lacy's smile became eviller. "My sister always told me her last wish -

"Was to be cremated."


	5. Becoming Vampire

Chapter 5

Wednesday, November 27th, 1985

Hill Valley

12: 02 A. M.

Consciousness slowly came back to Doc. He let out a soft, weak moan. He was freezing! What had happened? Where was Josie? Where were the attendants?

Where was _he_, for that matter?

It came to Doc it was awfully dark, where-ever he was. Then he realized his eyes were still closed. He opened them, but it didn't help much. He tried to move around, but his movements were limited. It was like being in a rather large box in a cold place.

Wait a moment. Box?

Doc nearly started hyperventilating. He had been buried alive! He shut his eyes and tried to calm down. "_Don't panic now. Josie told you this would happen. You need to escape before you run out of air down here._" Hoping Josephine was near, he banged on the lid of his coffin. 

To his surprise, his hand smashed right through the cheap wood. Dirt and grubs rained down on him. Suppressing the urge to vomit and thoughts of decomposition, he clawed his way free off the coffin. His grave was cheaply dug, making this not quite as arduous as it should have been. Within a minute, he had unearthed himself and lay panting on his grave.

He relaxed and checked for grubs. Thankfully none had found him in his short interment and he was still completely whole. Reassured that he hadn't been eaten up any, he looked around.

That proved to be a big mistake. Information flooded his already stressed brain. A whole world of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches presented itself to him in all its glory.

And it terrified him.

He shut his eyes tight and tried to focus his mind, to block out all the intruding sensations. "_Josie. . . . Where's Josie? I need her most now. . . . Please let her be okay. I love her so much. Josephine? Can you hear me? Where are you?_"

There was no response. Doc got worried. "_Something's happened to her. She wouldn't abandon me like this._"

That reminded him - the letter! He pulled it from his thankfully untouched shirt. Forcing himself to ignore all the other sensations, he started reading:

_Dear Emmett,_

_It appears I was not able to get to your graveside at time. I'm extremely sorry I was unable to be with you. Know that I love you and would never willingly abandon you. Hopefully this letter will suffice until I am able to reach you._

_I'm sure you're feeling quite a lot of new sensations now. It's scary at first, I know, but you'll get used to it. Relax and let it wash over you. You'll find you will be better off if you leave most of it to instinct. Eventually the sensations will lessen until you're able to handle them efficiently._

_First things first, my love - you're going to have to feed soon. No doubt you're already feeling thirsty._

Doc found himself nodding yes to the letter. He _was_ thirsty. His throat felt abnormally dry, like he'd been denied water for a long time. "_Which I have_," he figured, licking his lips. A few of the smells seemed much more inviting now. There was blood nearby. A lot of it. 

He glanced down at the letter for instruction:

_Just follow your nose and ears to the nearest source of blood you can find. You'll know what to do when you find it. It comes naturally to all of us._

Doc nodded again, running his tongue over his lips again. He tucked the letter back in his shirt for the moment and stood up. For a moment, he stood in awe of his new senses, which had become manageable as he read the letter. The dark toxic clouds obscuring the sky no longer hindered his vision. Everything alive glowed with a beautiful warm light. His hearing had improved to at least canine level, and most probably beyond. The slightest and softest noise was loud to his sensitive ears. He could hear heartbeats in the distance, along with noises of motorcycles and gunshots. Closer to the grave were the tiny 'heartbeats' of insects and grubs. The ground beneath him had a fascinating texture. It was like he could feel each separate grain of dirt under his feet. He knelt down for a moment and sifted the dirt through his fingers, amazed at his sensitivity to touch.

But it was his sense of smell that was commanding his attention. It kept telling him, "_Blood is near, blood is near, blood is near. . . ._", making his growing thirst simply unbearable. He began his search for the blood, moving in an almost ghostly manner over the ground. He tracked the warm, delicious smell to the morgue. He could see, hear, and smell two guards inside, as well as the coroner and a still full vat of blood from recently embalmed people. Sniffing the air and listening closely, he could also detect a gang of young men coming to deface headstones. Which to choose for his first vampire meal?

He decided for the morgue. The gang members were a tempting choice, but he didn't want to risk injury in his first night as a vampire. He searched the building carefully, finding a window near the vat of blood. He carefully slipped it open, hearing the lock crack as the sash pulled up. He climbed in and sniffed the air. The blood was in a back room, just waiting for him to dip his fangs in and drink it. He snuck close to the doorway and looked into the room. There was the beckoning blood vat - but also the coroner. He'd have to lure him away somehow.

As he thought, he heard one of the guards coming into the room. His flashlight beam preceded him, sweeping the dark room for intruders. Doc ducked deeper into the shadows, one hand clinging to the wall. His abnormally long nails dug into the wood.

The flashlight beam drew nearer. Instinctively Doc climbed up the wall, his nails helping him grip. It took him a minute to realize what he was doing. Unthinking, he gasped in surprise.

Luckily, the guard coughed just then. With a final quick sweep, he seemed satisfied. "Come on, Larry! That's a job that can wait until morning. Nobody's gonna touch that."

Larry the embalmer left the vat of blood he had been draining and followed the guard. Doc considered taking his blood, but one look at his mummified countenance convinced him not to. He stole into the room and dipped his hands into the blood vat. His eyes glowing cinnamon brown, he gulped down the blood. Even though he was drinking from a pool, his fangs extended anyway, drawing up blood along grooves on the back. He leaned over the side and started drinking it from the vat, covering himself with blood.

After about 5 minutes, he was finally satisfied. He looked down at himself and chuckled at the complete mess he was. He was almost perversely good Josie wasn't here to see him. He needed a bath, a shave, a haircut, a nail trim, and a change of clothes immediately. But where could he go to get one?

"_Wait. . . . My old home might still be standing. I could hide there until I find Josie. Nobody will notice. How will I get there without being seen, though?_"

He pulled out his letter. Maybe it had the answers he needed.

_If you want to get around quickly and invisibly (which I'm sure you do) just stretch your back muscles._

Doc blinked. Stretch his back muscles? Of what use would they be? Still, Josie had to know what she was talking about. And he did have a few kinks in his back. He stretched.

He heard and felt his shirt shred in the back. Confused, he looked behind him - and gasped.

Protruding from his back were 2 beautiful jet black bat wings, just the right size to support his weight. He looked at the letter:

_Surprise! All you have to do is fly above the smog. I'm shocked you never noticed mine. They fold up onto the back when you don't need them._

"So _those_ are what those mysterious ridges were," Doc said aloud. "I always thought they were a deformity. Was I ever wrong!" He gave his wings a test flap. They worked perfectly. Excited, he raced back to the window and took off into the air.

Flying was everything he'd imagined it to be in his youth. It was exhilarating to be able to cleave the sky and leave the rest of the mortals behind. Hill Valley looked much different from the air, Doc observed as he flew. Faint glows emanated from the houses, showing where the people were inside. All-too-familiar sounds and smells, new in intensity, assaulted his ears and nose. Smog and gunpowder, screams of pain and terror and police siren's wailing - all the same as they were 2 years ago. Doc shuddered as he recalled what had happened to his hometown. It had probably gotten worse in the 2 years he had been removed from it.

Flying over the Town Square confirmed that. The combination of bright neon and and life glows hurt Doc's eyes. There were more smells and sounds than he could count. He could hear bikers, prostitutes, and other lowlifes offering themselves for sex and torturing the unfortunate homeless. Drunks staggered all over the place. Drugs and alcohol were the dominant smells, but there was also urine, semen, and a host of other disgusting scents. And towering above it all was the horrific facade of the Pleasure Paradise. Doc flipped it off as he flew past.

He located his abandoned house/garage/lab a few blocks away. Both the Burger King and the porn shop near it seemed to be vacated. Feeling he was safe, he landed and sighed at the graffiti decorating the outside of his home. Ignoring the death threats and various slurs toward him, he proceeded in.

And promptly stepped on a piece of glass.

"OW! Son of a b*tch," Doc grumbled, lifting his foot. To his surprise, the wound healed almost instantly. He set his foot down carefully and looked around. The entire place had been trashed. Most of his experiments had been torn to pieces. Broken lab equipment littered the floor, sharing space with old newspapers and used hypodermics. Every window had been smashed, and he could smell urine soaked into the floor. He felt like vomiting.

His keen sense of smell led him to a small fresh corpse in the corner. Tears filled his eyes as he realized it was his beloved dog Einstein. With no one to take care of him, the sheepdog/bearded collie mix had had to fight for himself. The other occupants of the house must have abused him so much, he had perished. Tears streaming down his face, Doc picked his way toward him and tenderly lifted the dog's body to his chest. "I'm sorry, boy," he whispered, cuddling it. "I'm so sorry."

He spotted a weakly glowing life form near a bunch of other corpses. Setting Einstein down gently, he went over to investigate. It turned out to be a month-old puppy, crying and nudging his mother. Beside him were the bodies of his littermates and mother, a Jack Russell terrier. He was the only survivor of whatever had killed his parents and siblings.

Doc carefully picked up the puppy, who whined piteously. Doc knew he had to take care of him for Einstein's sake. 'Don't worry - Edison," he whispered into the puppy's ear. "I'll take care of you. Nobody's going to hurt you anymore."

Edison whined and tried to suckle his fingers. Doc cradled the puppy and flew to a nearby drugstore. It was closed for repairs, but Doc easily broke in. He grabbed some dog food, milk, baby formula, and heavy cream to make some puppy food. He also found an eyedropper with which to feed him, then beat it out of there. His conscience bothered him about stealing, but he knew he had no other choice.

He returned home and made up a formula for his new puppy to eat. Edison took to the stuff immediately and drank a whole bowlful through the eyedropper. Doc got an old coat and Einstein's old bed and created a nest for Edison to sleep in. He tucked the puppy in safe and waited for him to fall asleep. Then he took the other dogs, flew them to the cemetery and gave them a solemn burial by George McFly's grave.

He returned home, checked on Edison, then settled down nearby to read the rest of Josie's letter. It described in exacting detail his condition. He could fly, read minds, and hypnotize people with his stare. His strength was much increased and he could never get sick. Normal food and drink was out of the question now ("_It'll make 'shopping' much easier, at least._"). He'd have to feed the next night, and every other night he woke up after that. There was a warning against soulless vampires - evil creatures who tortured others for fun. Then some tips on how to live the night life, and a final "I love you" and goodbye.

But these were only her words. What had happened to Josephine herself?

Doc was wondering if he should go back to the cemetery and look for her when he spotted a paper by his foot. It was the Hill Valley Telegraph, dated yesterday. The headline read:

SOUTHDALE ASYLUM UNSAFE FOR PATIENTS

Doc snorted. _He_ could have told them _that_. He picked up the paper and began reading the article. It detailed first his own death from an unknown disease. Doc smiled as he read Dr. Adams's comments on him 'making real progress at the time of his death'. Then it went on to describe Josephine's 'death' by the electro-convulsive therapy equipment. "_A healing coma,_" Doc realized. "_Maybe she's buried in a grave herself. I'd better get-_"

His eyes found the next line:

_At the order of her sister, Miss Lacy Grey, Miss Josephine Grey was cremated this afternoon._

Horror flooded Doc's mind. Cremated. They had murdered his Josephine. His Josie. His friend. His lover.

The scientist sunk into despair. He was free, but he had lost his one true love. The one person he had wanted to be free _for_. The one person he had expected to share eternity with. Sobbing like a baby, he slumped to the floor, his will to live gone. He couldn't go on without Josephine. He just couldn't. "Josie. . . . Oh, god, Josie. . . ."

For a minute, he considered ending it all. It would be so easy to just set this place ablaze and let the flames consume him. Then he heard a soft whine from Edison's nest. He looked over at the puppy, who was awake and hungry. No. He couldn't die. Josie wouldn't have wanted him to commit suicide. And he was still needed - still loved by someone. He would find a way to live.

He fed Edison, then looked back at the paper. "At the order of her sister, Miss Lacy Grey," he read, a growl rising in his throat. "I may not have been able to save you, Josie, but I'll get you revenge. I swear on your ashes I'll get you revenge."

Wednesday, November 27th

7: 04 P. M.

Lacy Grey was packing her things when she heard the knock at the door. She answered it, thinking it was a newspaper reporter. "I already gave my-"

She abruptly found herself pinned to the wall by an enraged old-looking vampire, eyes glowing like hot coals. Her surprise faded quickly into anger. "Who the f**k are you?" she hissed, vamping.

"Your sister's lover," Doc hissed back. "She was my cellmate in Southdale. She transformed me to get me out of that hell-hole. I loved her. And then you had to go and burn her to death." His grip tightened, digging his claws into her shoulders. "We had a whole life planned out, and you took it away from us. Now, I'm going to take your life from you." Without further ado, he tore into her neck, sucking her blood with an animal ferocity.

Lacy shoved him off and tried to attack him with her nails. Doc avoided her and leapt on her back, clawing her viciously. She gave as good as she got, hissing and biting whatever was in range.

For a few minutes, they struggled, trading superficial injuries that healed quickly. Then Lacy grabbed from her shelves an emergency stake she kept for her vampire attackers. She grabbed Doc by the back of the neck to hold him still and aimed for his heart. But before she could thrust it in, Doc grabbed the stake and slammed down on it. With a shriek of pain, Lacy went still, impaled on the wrong end.

Doc grinned in victory - then realized what he had let himself become in the fight. He had taken so much pleasure in trying to murder Lacy he had completely forgotten his humanity. He could see Josie's disappointed frown in his mind.

He slowly stood up and looked at the she-vampire. "Consider that notice served," he told her. "Get out of here before sunrise or I take you to the crematorium." His conscience slightly soothed, he flew back home, vowing never to let his emotions get the better of him again. He had to stay sane for Edison and Josie's memory. He just had to.


	6. Homecoming Time, Marty

Chapter 6

Sunday, December 22nd, 1985

Hill Valley

8: 10 P. M.

Doc cruised over the outlying neighborhoods of Hill Valley, looking down. Below he could hear the noises of people struggling to stay alive in the hell of their living area. Many of the houses in Lyon Estates had 'For Sale' signs, the occupants being forced out by gangs and Biff. A few brave souls were holding out against the tyrant's advance, but it was a losing battle.

Doc sighed as he flew over one of these houses. Currently occupied by a tough black family, it had once been the McFly homestead. The scientist would be sad to see it go. One of his happiest memories was contained within it's walls. Smiling weakly at it, he flew on.

He passed bullet-ridden houses and smashed-up cars. Chalk outlines seemed to glow in the deepness of the night. Gangs freely roamed the streets, shooting each other over real or imagined slights. Police cars zoomed to the crime scenes and all too frequent murders. No one in the neighborhoods themselves noticed anymore. These were all common occurrences in what had once been a peaceful little town. Doc similarly took little notice of them and kept on.

He finally reached his destination - the abandoned Delgado mine by the old cemetery. Nearby loomed one of Biff's factories, but Doc didn't fear getting caught. No one took any notice of this place any more. It was forgotten by the rest of mankind. Here, he was completely safe.

And so was his time machine.

Doc landed just outside the cave's entrance and walked in. One soft light he had set up glowed in the darkness, but it was all the light he needed. He glanced around and sniffed. No one had been here recently. Satisfied, he plopped himself on the hood of the DeLorean and started to think.

The first few days of vampire existence were a blur in his mind, he recalled. Grief over losing the 3 people he cared for most - Josie, Marty, and Einstein (he considered him a person) - had clouded his perceptions. He had done little more than exist. The one thing that had kept him from self-destruction was Edison. The puppy had helped him cope with his losses and eventually gotten him to start living again. "_I owe that dog my life. No one's going to take him away from me like they took my other friends from me._"

He looked down at himself as he reflected. His beard was shaved off, and his nails clipped to a far more reasonable and manageable length. He had bathed and burned his blood-stained greens. He wore now his old combinations of Hawaiian shirts and khaki pants, all concealed under a heavy black coat. And he made sure that whenever he fed, he was gentle and neat.

Thinking about feeding made him smile. At first, drinking the blood of other humans had felt like leeching of the general population. Then someone had tried to rape a girl in his yard. He had chased them off and fed off them. In his anger, he had gotten an idea. He could dispense vigilante justice to the lowlifes of Hill Valley using his fangs. And that's just what he had done, becoming the "Dark Angel" all the homeless and innocent worshiped. He felt good to help the community and to get blood without bothering his conscience.

He looked at his reflection in his hood and smiled a little. Things had improved for himself at least, in a minimalist way. He was enjoying himself a bit, and was bolstered by a dream. His dream of time travel. His imprisonment had served one good purpose - he had all the plans for the time machine stored neatly and accurately in his mind. As a result, his building time was going much quicker, whenever he could get the parts he needed. He estimated he might be done as soon as late January of next year. Then he knew he could go back in time and rescue Josephine. He couldn't let her sister consign her to the flames. He'd rescue her or die trying. After, he would sink his fangs into Biff - his eyes glowed at the very thought - and escape into the past.

He got up off the hood and started his work on the car, wiring coils and parts into place. He worked quickly and efficiently, wanting to get back to Edison as soon as possible. As he placed the time circuit control switch into place, the glove compartment fell open. His papers spilled out all over the passenger seat and floor. Doc picked them up and looked at them. His blueprints were there, of course. But there were also 2 other pieces that he cherished more. His letters from Josephine and Marty.

He carefully held Marty's letter, feeling near tears suddenly. It was 30 years old, and the tape was yellow and brittle, but he wouldn't give it up. "_God, I miss that kid. Almost as much as I miss Josephine. I wish I could see you again, Marty, be with you again. Damn it, why does Switzerland have to be so far?! I would fly across the ocean in a minute if it was possible. I wanted you to be part of my family, Marty. I wanted a family. . . ._"

Doc realized he had begun to weep. He dried his eyes and held the paper close to his heart. "Ich Liebe Dich, Martin," he whispered, remembering that night so long ago. "I love you, kid, and I always will. I swear, I won't let you suffer at Biff's hands any longer."

He replaced the papers carefully and kept working. Christmas was coming up, he thought with a pang. It would be his worst day for loneliness, as he had intended to share it with Josie and Marty. But he would somehow make do with a simple celebration with himself and Edison. And he'd make sure to dream about them the night before. He could always be with them in dreams.

And, if his machine worked, maybe in reality too.

Monday, December 23rd, 1985

Hill Valley

6: 35 P. M.

If there was _one_ thing Marty McFly hated, it was coming home for Christmas.

He looked out the window at the violence-laden streets of Hill Valley and sighed. What had happened to this town? It had once been quiet and happy, if you believed what your mothers and fathers told you. And for Marty, it hadn't been that bad until his father had been shot.

"_Biff's what happened,_" the teen thought bitterly. He hated his stepfather with a passion, often trying to rebel against him. Each time he was punished with blows and some form of torture. It had gotten to the point where the teen had given up and accepted that his lot in life was to be Biff's punching bag. Sometimes he wished he would die so he could escape this hell he called life.

The limo driver pulled up to the gaudy hotel entrance. Marty thanked him and gave him a tip. The guy was one of Biff's employees/spies, but at least he left him pretty much alone. Most of the others had picked up Biff's habit of yelling verbal abuse at him.

He grabbed his suitcases and got out of the limo. Rough types from the clubs and bars looked him over and snorted. A few prostitutes thrust themselves at him. He ignored them and entered the lobby. Charlene was waiting for him as always. She gave him a dirty look. "Back again, huh? I didn't think you'd have the guts to come back."

"I always come back," Marty sighed, heading for the elevator. He didn't feel like talking to one of Biff's many girlfriends. 

"You better not cause a mess like you did last time!" Charlene yelled after him. Marty just ignored her and pressed the button for the 27th floor. Alone in the car, he let himself slump to the floor for the ride up. "_Don't let him be drunk. He hits me less when he's sober. Just don't let him be drunk._"

He reached the penthouse apartment his mother and step-father lived in. He got up and dragged himself to the big double-doors leading inside. Biff, Lorraine, and his lackeys were already in the living room. Lorraine was sitting at the bar, already drunk as hell. Biff was regarding him strangely and suspiciously. Yup, this was home. "Hey," he said, noting with a wince the fresh bruises on Lorraine's face.

Biff glared up at him. He seemed to be preoccupied somehow. "Get your ass down here."

Marty obeyed meekly. The last time he'd disobeyed an order, he had ended up in the hospital. Biff looked into his eyes, scowling. "Gray's Sports Almanac."

Marty blinked. This was new - was it a test? "You buy a publishing place? Why not just call it Biff's? Not like anyone's gonna stop ya." Lower, he added, "You SOB."

Biff nodded like he was satisfied and hit Marty. That was more on par with his normal greetings. He must have heard the 'SOB' comment. He looked at his feet as his step-father rained blows on him. Twice he wanted to fight back, shove him, hurt him, but the thought of dying from a beating stayed his instinct.

Biff finished the beating up quickly. "Get out of my sight, you little son of a b*tch," he snapped, slugging Marty one last time. Then he and his gang left, quietly discussing something. With _that_ greeting over and done with, Marty turned to his mom. She was still at the bar, looking at him, weaving slightly back and forth. Marty managed a smile for her. "Mom," he said.

"Marty," she replied, a bit coldly to his ears. He shrugged it off. When she was drunk, his mother had mood swings. "How are you?"

"Okay, I guess," Marty shrugged, wincing from a blow. "You?"

He got a shrug in return. Marty glanced over at the door Biff had left through. "How long has he been in this mood? I think we'd better both-"

It happened so suddenly, it took Marty a moment to realize it had occurred. Lorraine stumbled to her feet and slapped him full across the face. "You little worm!" she screamed at him. "You bastard child!"

Marty blinked, trying to comprehend what had just happened. "Mom?" he asked, confused.

"Don't 'Mom' me! I wish you'd never been born!" She stood over him, reeking of booze, eyes flashing fury. "You're a piece of shit! You've always been a piece of shit! I wish that Biff would beat you so you'd die! Then I could leave him in peace! Why couldn't you have been like David and Linda!"

Marty was stunned. Although they didn't see each other often, he and his mother usually had an okay relationship. She was his defender and protector against Biff. What had changed? "What did I do, Mom?" he begged, rubbing the forming bruise.

She slapped him again, her rings biting into his skin. "You know damn well what you did!" she shrieked, glaring at him. "Every time you come home, I suffer! I'm sick of it! Why don't you just kill yourself so I don't have to put up with you anymore!?" She grabbed an empty glass and chucked it at Marty's head. "I hate you!"

Marty ducked under the glass and bolted for his room, forgetting his suitcase. "_I don't believe it. Mom hates me. . . . Mom hates me. . . ._" He collapsed on the bed, her screams at him and the phrase playing over and over again in his mind until he was reduced to tears. "_That son of a bitch Biff must have convinced her I was a loser. Damn it, I'd love to sink a knife into his heart. . . . Why can't someone love me anymore? I want to be loved. . . ._"

After a few minutes, Marty managed to stop crying. There was a new resolve in his eyes. With his mother against him now, there was no reason to stick around. "_No more,_" he thought, teeth clenched in anger. "_No more. No more beatings and abuse. No more putting up with _her_ when she's drunk. No more! _I'm leaving_!_"

He stomped back to the living room, where his suitcase waited for him. Lorraine was back at the bar, gulping down alcohol like there was no tomorrow. He ignored her dirty look, grabbed his suitcase, and headed up the stairs to the doors. He reentered the elevator and punched the button for the lobby violently. "Screw them all," he growled, stomping through the lobby as the elevator landed. Charlene glared at him, but he threw her the finger and exited out onto the streets.

Before he even got off the steps, some prostitutes had approached him, grinning. "Hey, little boy!" one called to him, her hair stringy and filthy. "Wanna have some fun?" Her two friends, heavily made up, giggled. "Or are you not man enough to take it?"

Marty walked past them, only to be accosted by a gang. "Yo, punk!" the leader snapped, flashing a switchblade at him. "Beat it! This is our turf! Don't make me cut you up!"

The teen backed away from these characters, only to bump into some bikers enjoying a drink. They glared at him, upset. "You want your face rearranged, runt?" the burliest one said, pulling out some brass knuckles. Caught between 2 violent people, Marty did what he did best in these situations - bolted.

He ran for a couple of blocks, avoiding drunks and homeless, before stopping to catch his breath. He had never had an encounter with the outside world of Hill Valley before, and was ill-prepared for it. You didn't meet many Switzerland street gangs when you attended a boarding school. "_Okay, McFly. First priority, find a place to stay to get away from these freaks._"

He walked down the street he found himself on for a minute before discovering an old, dilapidated garage. The windows were all boarded up, and obscene graffiti was sprayed all over the walls. With empty businesses on either side, it was isolated and quiet. "_What the hell. It's somewhere nobody will look for me. Hello, new home._"

He ducked inside, to be greeted by loud barking. An extremely cute, fluffy dog ran up to him, yapping and circling him suspiciously. Marty smiled. "Hey, boy," he said in a soothing voice. "You live here too, huh?" He looked the dog over. "You look awful good for a stray. Must be a good scavenger or something." He took a step nearer the dog, but it danced away and growled. "Shoulda figured you'd be afraid of people. I don't blame you. I'm afraid of most of them myself."

He dumped his possessions on the bed and examined them. He had 10 changes of clothes, $13. 47 for cash, a few books and schoolbooks, a bag of peanuts from the plane, a pen, and some photographs from B.B. - Before Biff. He ripped open the bag of peanuts and started eating. "_Hmm. . . . I'm definitely gonna need some more cash if I wanna live out here. Should I steal some? Nah, I'd get caught and end up back with Biff. I could work for it, but what jobs could I get? What sort of jobs are available in a place like this?_"

He finished the peanuts, tossed the bag in the garbage, and-

The garbage?

Marty suddenly looked around the place again. His new home was far too neat to be abandoned. Everything was orderly - even the bed was made! Someone else had claimed this place first.

Marty started to feel afraid. "Who's living here?" he whispered, expecting no answer and getting none. "_Jesus Christ, who's home is this? A druggie? A drunk? A biker? A gang-banger? Whoever it is, I bet he's been waiting to take his frustrations out on someone. Damn it, I was supposed to be running _away_ from all that shit. What the hell am I-_"

His thought was interrupted by a door opening and the dog barking a greeting. Terrified, he bolted for the safety of a closet. He peeked out through a crack, waiting with bated breath to see who the occupant was.

He nearly laughed with relief when he saw it was an old guy with the mutt. "_Whew! Must be some homeless guy. He looks like he's in his 60s. I'm safe for the moment until I can get free and find a new place._"

The man suddenly frowned and looked up. He sniffed the air, his brow furrowing. "Who's in here?" he asked gruffly, getting off his knees. He turned his back to the baffled teen, still sniffing. Then he spun around abruptly, looking directly at the closet.

Marty had to stifle a scream. The man's face had changed. Fangs protruded from the upper jaw, and his eyes glowed cinnamon. "_Holy shit, what is he?!_"

The stranger walked briskly to the closet and threw it open to reveal the cowering teen. Marty held up a shaking hand. "Don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me."

The man gawked at him, eyes wide. He seemed to be in complete disbelief. "Marty?" he whispered. 

Marty stared back, just as disbelieving. How did this total and unnatural stranger know his name? He buried himself into the clothes, whimpering. 

Doc kept gawking. He had sensed a human presence the minute he'd landed. After greeting Edison, he had decided to scare off the intruder. Instead the intruder had scared him. "_It can't be Marty. I must be hallucinating._"

He reached out and felt the kid's head. He was truly there, real and solid. Feeling joy well up his heart, he knelt by the kid's side, returning to his normal appearance. "Don't be afraid, Marty. I won't hurt you."

"Stay away," Marty said, muffled by the clothes. 

"I'm back to normal, now."

Marty snuck a peek. The man looked like he had when he had first come in. The teen remained buried in the clothes. "You're not natural. Stay away."

"I promise I won't harm you, Marty," Doc said, persistent. Marty _couldn't_ reject him. "When did you get back from Switzerland?"

Marty looked up, digging up all the bravado he could find in his crushed ego. "How the hell do you know that stuff about me?! And what the hell are you?!"

Doc remained calm, knowing his friend was probably scared out of his wits. He showed he didn't have any weapons as he spoke. "I know about Switzerland through a friend who heard about it." He felt a pang as he thought about Josie, but pressed on. "I know your name because I knew your father. And I'm a vampire, but I wouldn't dream of drinking your blood."

Marty felt his head start to spin. Maybe he should have stuck it out at the Paradise. This was all too weird. "You knew my dad? And you're a _what_?"

"Yes, I knew George. He was a very good friend of mine, Marty. I was part of his group to get rid of Biffco. I feel some sort of obligation to you and your siblings because of that. Unfortunately, both your brother and sister refused any of my help because I'm supposed to be insane and dead. But I'm a vampire instead. I take blood from the gang members and drug-pushers who menace the innocent people here." He reached out to touch the nasty bruises on Marty's face. The teen pulled away. "It's all right, I'm not going to harm you."

"Stay away anyway. I don't like being touched." Doc dropped his hand, respecting that. "This is nuts. I must be dreaming."

"That's what I thought when I saw you. Everything's going to be all right." He looked at the unpacked suitcase. "I assume your original intention was to stay here? You're running away?"

Marty nodded. "But I'll go right now, no trouble at all."

"No. I'm not letting Biff or his goons find you. You're staying. I'll set up a bed for you and get you some food." He left Marty still hiding in the pile of clothes and retrieved a cot and blanket. As he set them up, he thought, "_Hmm, 2 days until Christmas. I hope I can scrounge up something for Marty within that time. Well, this is going to be a Happy Christmas!_"

He turned to find Marty finally having crawled out of the clothes. "Would you mind putting your clothes away?" Marty shook his head silently, looking totally intimidated. "All right, I'll go get some food. And don't worry about anything, Marty. You're in good hands, now." He exited the house and flew off.

Marty nervously put away his clothes and books and sat on the cot. "_Calm down. He seems sincere enough, and he _is_ acting nice to you. And he knew Dad. That counts for something. But that - that vampire stuff, and his face. . . . Damn, I'm so confused. . . . Should I try to bribe him to leave me alone? Christmas is coming up, I could get him a gift and exchange it for my freedom. . . . But still, he really seems to want to help me. . . . And he left me alone when I said to. . . . My head's spinning. . . . I'll give it a few days. Maybe - maybe things will be looking up for me. Just maybe._"


	7. Christmas Bonding

Chapter 7

Wednesday, Christmas, 1985

Hill Valley

7: 45 P. M.

Doc stepped away from the tree he had been decorating. "_Hmm. . . . Not bad, considering my situation. A little sparse, but it adds a festive touch to the place._"

He turned as he heard Marty come in from the bathroom. "Merry Christmas, Marty. What do you think?"

Marty looked the tree over. It wasn't exactly a great-looking one - Doc had found it in a brush pile from a tree-seller only yesterday. And the decorations were extremely simple. A single string of white lights, half burnt out, wound through the branches. A few old Styrofoam balls, painted festive colors, dangled on strings. The top was capped by an ancient-looking wooden angel with broken wings. Yet, because it wasn't Biff's tree, it looked fine. "Looks nice, Dr. Brown."

"You could call me Doc," Doc offered. "I wouldn't mind."

Marty shrugged. "I barely know you. You sleep all day."

"One of the disadvantages of being a vampire, I'm afraid," Doc sighed. "How are you?"

Marty just shrugged again. Yesterday had been confusing for him. Before he had gone to sleep, he had seen Dr. Brown drinking something he claimed was a stash of blood. And all the next day he had slept. Marty had used the time to scout out new places to live. But after a full 5 hours of searching, he had given up and decided to just stay with Doc. He did seem to be crazy, but at least he hadn't tried to hit him yet. In fact, his bribe to Doc for his freedom had turned into a bribe to not kick him out after a few days.

Doc clapped his hands. "How about some hot chocolate? I fixed the hot plate yesterday. And, of course, I have to give you your present. . . ."

"Present?" Marty blurted, eyes wide. "You - you actually got me something?"

"The best I could get, with my situation and on such short notice." He produced an odd-shaped package from under his bed. "Merry Christmas."

"Th-thanks," Marty stammered in disbelief. A Christmas present? He hadn't gotten one of those since he was 5! Curious, he carefully opened the paper. 

The present turned out to be an old, beat-up skateboard. Marty couldn't help but be further stunned. How had Dr. Brown known skateboarding was something he'd always wanted to do? He looked at the scientist, waiting expectantly. "How'd you know?" he whispered, holding it tight against his chest.

"I have my ways," Doc smiled mysteriously. "I'm very glad you like it. Now, for that hot chocolate. . . ."

Marty quickly reached under the cot and pulled out his present bribe to Doc. Doc looked at it, surprised. "You have something for me?"

"Yeah. I figured that if I got you something, you'd let me stay," Marty admitted, handing over the gift-wrapped lump. Doc opened it to find a ratty leash and collar for a dog. "Is it okay?"

Doc smiled at him. "It's fine. Thank you. But you didn't need to bribe me, kid. I would never make you leave. Whether you move on or not is totally up to you." He whistled for Edison and slipped the collar around his neck. Edison scratched at it a moment, then gave up and left it alone. "Perfect. Let's get you that hot chocolate." He put a mug of mix onto a hot plate, along with a mug of duck's blood he had found for himself. He sat down next to the kid as he felt his skateboard. "No splinters, I hope."

"No, no splinters," Marty mumbled, feeling uncomfortable. "I still can't believe you'd get me a present after only knowing me for 2 days."

"Marty, it feels more like I've known you for 30 years. It must be hard to get close to people, I assume."

Marty just shrugged. Doc retrieved the drinks from the hot plate and handed the cocoa to Marty. The teen silently accepted his drink and began to sip. "_This is too weird. Nobody treats a guy like this when they've only known him for 2 days. He's planning something, McFly. He's got something up his sleeve, and when the time's just right, he's gonna unleash it on you. Stay on your guard. Don't let him get close to you._"

Doc barely kept from sighing as he heard these gloomy thoughts. "_Patience, Emmett. He's only known you for 2 days as some stranger who doesn't hit him. You can't expect him to like you right away - or even to like you at all. Give it time._" "How's the chocolate?"

"Good. I haven't had it in a while. Ever since-" his voice cracked, but he tried to ignore it "-since Dad died."

Doc sighed at the mention of George. "He really was a good guy, Marty. I never regretted becoming friends with him."

Marty looked at Doc. "What was my dad like? I never really got to know him. The best memory I have is sitting beside him while he worked on some sci-fi story."

Doc thought, summoning up memories he hadn't thought of in a while. "He's the kind of guy who was shy when he first met you, but opened right up once you became friends. He was a definite science-fiction nut. He loved anything to do with aliens and UFOs." Doc smiled as a certain memory popped into his head. "He claimed he had been _visited_ by an alien when he was 17, and the alien helped him get together with his wife."

Marty laughed. "I remember that! Dad and Mom loved to talk about how they got together. Dad got visited by an alien, Mom fell in love with a new kid named 'Calvin "Marty" Klein", Dad rescued Mom from Biff. . . ." He sobered up. "Too bad Mom couldn't return the favor. She was crying all day when he died. And then, when Biff came along. . . ." Marty's face darkened. "Why the hell did she marry him? He tried to rape her in high school! That's why Dad slugged him! And then, to let him treat us like that. . . . You know what he did to us, Dr. Brown?"

"I have an idea," Doc admitted, his eyes starting to glow.

"No you don't," Marty said, empathetically shaking his head. "Nobody does. He beat us all up. Dave ran away at 14. I haven't seen him since. I think he's some bum on the streets. Linda used to be like me, go to all these fancy boarding schools so he wouldn't have to put up with us. She bolted at 16. I saw her once, she's a hooker and completely strung out on crack." He felt tears burn behind his eyes, but he blinked them back. "I'm the only one who stuck it out for this long. I went to all the boarding schools, did my best, let him abuse me. Not a day didn't go by when he told me I was worthless and not worthy of breathing his air. He liked to smash me up for the slightest thing. Sometimes he'd actually invent reasons. His gang buddies got in on the act too. They'd hold me when he beat me, or invent their own tortures for me."

"Like what?" Doc asked, not sure he wanted to know. 

Marty pulled off his shirt and showed Doc his back. It was criss-crossed with scars. "One of them - 3-D, I think - borrowed a whip off one of those sado-macho girls. They took turns with it. In front of a whole lobby of people. And nobody helped me. A few even - even cheered them on." He shook his head. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this shit. You've got it in for me too! Don't-"

Marty stopped when he saw Doc's eyes fully aglow. Frightened he had somehow angered the vampire, he backed away. "No. Please. Not today."

Doc looked at him. "You misjudge me," he whispered, his fangs slightly protruding. "I'm not mad at you at all. I'm mad at those bastards who hurt you like that. And those who watched." He looked at the still purple bruises on Marty's face. "And that was from Biff?"

Marty shook his head. "My Mom. She told me she wished I would die. She hates me." Before he could stop himself, he had begun to cry. "My own mom hates me. The one person I could count on. Damn it, all I wanted was a family. . . ."

Doc tentatively opened his arms. He was expecting a full rejection, of course. Now he could see why Marty hated to be touched.

To his surprise, Marty flung himself into them, sobbing hysterically. Momentarily shocked, Doc quickly started soothing him. "Shh, shh. Relax Marty. It's all right. You're free now. I'll take care of you. I'll be your family. And if _anyone_ tries to hurt you or take you away from me, they're going to get a nasty surprise."

Marty slowly relaxed, his sobs quieting. Being held in Doc's arms like this was very comforting. He leaned into him, feeling safe. "Let me stay," he mumbled. "Don't make me go back. Ever. Let me stay with you."

"Of course, of course. We're family now." He very gently stroked Marty's back, carefully running his fingers over the old scars. Marty sighed and relaxed further. "Come on, let's finish our drinks."

"I want to stay here," Marty mumbled, squeezing tighter.

"That's fine too," Doc smiled, tenderly rocking him. "I'll hold you as long as you like. I promise, no one will ever hurt you again."

"Thank you - Doc." He let himself start to fall asleep. His abrupt emotional outburst had exhausted him. "Merry Christmas, I guess."

"Merry Christmas to you too."

Friday, December 27th, 1985

Hill Valley

2: 00 P. M.

"Come _on_, Match! We ain't got all day! The boss is waiting!"

"Guys, I'm tired! I want to sleep with the broads at Tanya's Playhouse!"

Marty snapped awake as he heard those voices. For a moment, he thought he was back at the Pleasure Paradise, Biff waiting to get him. Then his senses returned, and he remembered he was safely at home in Doc's place. He glanced over at the vampire, sound asleep in his bed. Then, cautiously, he got up and peeked out a boarded-up window.

Biff's gang was trudging toward the garage, arguing among themselves heatedly. As usual, they were all dressed in tacky suits reminiscent of their boss. "I don't see why we gotta do this," Match complained, taking off his cowboy hat briefly to curl the brim a little.

"Biff says we have to. Somebody told him that Brown bastard is still alive, and we gotta go looking for him. You know how he gets if he's nervous," 3-D snapped, his jeweled 3-D glasses not doing much for his sight. "He gets irritable. Business goes down. We don't get broads."

"Or mary-jane," Skinhead agreed, adjusting his gun and blackjack. "But I don't think we have to search _every _empty place on the block. Why don't we just skip to that old garage?"

3-D looked at the Burger King next door. "You know, maybe we can skip this place. Let's do a quick check around, though."

Frightened, Marty raced to Doc and shook him hard. "Doc! Doc, wake up!"

Doc's eyes opened. "Marty, stop that. You're giving me a headache."

"I'm sorry, Doc, but Biff's gang is heading our way! They're checking out all the houses and stuff on this block! _Biff knows you're alive_!"

Doc was on his feet in an instant. "Damn! Damn damn! We'd best get out of here for a few hours. Edison, here boy!"

Edison ran over to him, trailing his leash. Doc picked him up and nodded to Marty. "Get on my back."

"What?"

"I can't carry you both. You'll have to ride piggyback."

Marty supposed that made sense, but still. . . . "I can run really fast, Doc. Survival instinct. You don't need to carry me."

"Yes I do. We're _flying_ out of here. Climb on."

Marty stared. For a moment, he considered refusing on the grounds Doc was nuts for thinking he was a vampire. Then he remembered the few times he had actually seen Doc's eyes change and fangs emerge. He climbed on and hung on tight. Doc carefully spread his wings through the gaps, exited the house through the back door, and took off.

They reached Oak Park Cemetery a few minutes later. Doc landed and gently shrugged Marty off. "Next time, could you put your arms around my shoulders, not my throat?" he said hoarsely.

"Sorry, Doc," Marty blushed. "But we were - _flying._ I've never flown quite like that before."

Doc smiled. "It's okay. I imagine it's hard to accept the fact that I'm a vampire, even after seeing it with your own eyes."

Marty shook his head. "A real vampire. The only vampire I ever heard about was Dracula." He looked at Doc, curious. "What's it like?"

"You'd have to be one to truly understand what it's like. All your senses are more alive, more alert. It's - it's like being blind and deaf, living in a completely sterilized room in a plastic bubble with a bad cold, being human after you're a vampire. You're stronger, faster, can fly, can hypnotize. It's basically the next step up in evolution, I'd say."

"What about the blood-drinking?"

"I only attack those who deserve it," Doc assured him as they walked along in the cemetery. "Gangs and people like that. It's not much, but I do what I can to help. In fact, I even saved your brother from a vicious beating one day, Marty. He was grateful, but I think a little nervous too."

Marty had a sudden realization. "You're the Dark Angel! I heard about you the day after I met you from some bum - think his name was Red. You're a real celebrity to them. They love you."

Doc smiled. "Well, there you are. It's nice to be appreciated."

"How'd you become a vampire in the first place?"

Doc stiffened. Marty, worried he had upset him somehow, rushed to apologize. "Sorry, we barely know each other. I shouldn't be asking stuff like that."

"No, it's fine," Doc sighed, sitting down on a heavily graffitied bench. Marty followed suit. "It's simply that - that it's a bit of an open wound still. I met her in the mental hospital. . . ."

Doc went on to describe all his experiences with Josephine, how they had fallen in love shortly after meeting, her master plan to get them out of there, and what had happened to separate them. A few tears ran down his cheeks as he remembered finding out she had been cremated. "She was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I lost her."

Marty sighed, then reached out and gave Doc a quick pat on the back. "We've got a lot in common, huh?"

"I suppose so." Doc pulled Marty into a hug. Marty stiffened automatically, then relaxed into his arms. "At least we have each other now." He stroked Marty's hair gently, smiling. He was perversely glad that Biff's gang was ransacking his house. He felt so close to Marty now, just like at Christmas. "_I'm so glad we got to meet. At least I have someone that I care about now._" He dipped his head near Marty's neck, inhaling his unusual scent with a chuckle.

Marty heard the laugh and looked up. "What's funny?"

"Just the way you smell. Each person on Earth has their own unique smell, I'm sure of it. I can smell the blood, of course, but everyone has a distinct 'perfume' to them. It's fascinating."

"But what's so funny about how I smell?"

"You smell _exactly_ like a fast-food restaurant."

Marty gently hit him. "Get outa town, I do not!"

"Yes you do! A complete meal of burgers and fries and even an ice-cold drink. You smell good enough - to eat."

Marty noticed Doc turning away as he finished his sentence. "Doc, you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, just - hungry." Doc sniffed the air, hoping that there would be a gang around or something. "It's a feeding day for me, and since I'm awake. . . ."

Marty nervously rubbed his neck. Even though he liked Doc, he wasn't ready for that kind of contact. They had only known each other for a few days, after all. "Sorry. There's gotta be somebody around here you can have for a snack."

Doc sniffed again, then smiled. "Ah, the morgue. The blood vat is filling up. I can get a free drink there. Wait here for me."

"Okay." Doc flew off to get his meal. Marty amused himself by playing with Edison for a little bit. Then he walked away a few paces, wondering if he should disobey Doc and go to his father's grave. He hadn't been there in a while, and with that monologue he'd delivered two days earlier, he wanted to go see him. He wandered around the bench for a moment, then decided to stay put. He had seen Doc mad, and he didn't want any anger directed at him - _ever_.

Doc returned in short order, looking much better. "All better. Ready to see if they've left yet?"

Marty shook his head. "I want to visit my Dad's grave first."

Doc's smile changed into soberness. "All right." They walked together to the lonely hill where George was buried. Marty knelt before his tombstone and read the few lines that condensed his father's life:

In Loving Memory

George Douglas McFly

Born: April 1st, 1938

Died: March 15th, 1973

Marty shook his head sadly. "I'm really sorry I didn't get to know you, Dad. Doc tells me you were a really great guy. Seems like the name McFly is a harbinger of bad luck, huh? At least the boarding school education is paying off."

Doc couldn't help but grin at Marty's impromptu quip. "He's got some company, you know," he said, indicating a smaller lump beside the grave. "I buried Einstein and his family here. I felt it was an appropriate place - friends next to friends."

"Definitely. Mom once told me Dad liked dogs, so I bet they're all together in heaven." Marty remained kneeling at the grave for a moment, then got up. Doc gave him a pat. "Ready to go home, kid?"

"Yeah." Marty climbed on Doc's back, and off they flew.


	8. The Truth is Out There

Chapter 8

Friday, December 27th

3: 46 P. M.

Doc circled his home carefully before landing and shrugging off Marty. "They're gone. Hope they didn't wreck the place too badly."

"Doc, what if they realized we're living here?" Marty asked fearfully. "I don't want to go back."

"We move, plain and simple." Doc opened the door and sighed at the mess. "Of course, they make it look like it did before I -- what the hell?" He knelt down and picked up a silver bag lying on the floor. "I've never seen this before. 'Blast From The Past'. Sounds like some sort of antique store. But why would this bag be here?"

"Ya got me, Doc," Marty shrugged. "Druggies aren't known for their taste in antiques." He looked around himself and spotted what looked like the top of a cane. "More junk. Nice handle, huh?" He showed Doc the brass ornament on top. It was shaped like a fist. "Wonder who it belongs to."

"Probably an old bum who was staying here before me," Doc said with a dismissive wave. Then his sharp eyes caught a name engraved onto the fingers. "Wait, there's a name on it -- _Biff H. Tannen_?!?"

Startled, Marty turned the ornament around so he could read the inscription. "Biff? But that's impossible! He may shoot up, but he doesn't have any back problems I know off. He's knelt down over me enough times to convince me of that." He examined the broken top. "Sure looks like something he'd use, though. Maybe it's another Biff Tannen?"

"I doubt that. I looked up Biff Tannen in the phone book once. Only one name." Doc looked back at the silver bag he still clutched, then opened it on a whim. Inside was a piece of opaque blue paper that seemed to be a futuristic receipt. Doc examined it closely. Suddenly he turned deathly pale.

"Doc? Doc, are you all right?" Marty asked worriedly. "What is it?"

"Look at this, Marty," Doc whispered, handing over the paper. "Tell me what you make of it."

Marty accepted the receipt and looked at it. His eyes opened wide. The slip read: 

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Your last stop in antiques from the 90s, 80s, and beyond

Purchased: Gray's Sports Almanac, published 2000

Price: $32. 19 American (Thumb Credit)

Customer: Martin Seamus McFly Senior (Credit Rating D)

Date: October 21, 2015

Marty had to sit down. The shock was just too much. "October 21st, 2015," he muttered. "The almanac Biff asked me about. . . . _me_ listed there. . . . Doc, it just doesn't make sense."

Doc shook his head soberly. "I'm afraid it does, Marty. I never thought you might be the cause of all this, but it appears you -- we -- are." He sat down across from the stunned teen, plucking the slip from his fingers. "Now, Marty, what I'm going to tell you is going to sound incredible. But I swear it is all the gospel truth. This slip and the cane handle are proof of what I've suspected all along. This has never been the correct time line for us." He glanced at the date on the receipt. "Well, at least we have 30 years until the universe collapses."

"What? What the hell are you talking about, Doc? I don't understand a word you're saying."

Doc got an idea and grabbed his old, broken-down blackboard. He picked up some chalk and started drawing. "A diagram should help. Look here." He drew a line across the board, in unintentional imitation of what had happened months before. "This is a time line. The past is at this end, 1985 is somewhere along here, and the future is at this end." He labeled the points appropriately. "Of course, this is a mere approximation of time, as it is not truly a line, nor is the past set in this place, and from different year viewpoints, these would appear to be--"

"English, Doc!"

Doc chuckled at that. "All right, I'll leave out the hard theory. Let's just leave it that this is a crude representation of the space-time continuum. Along this time line, we did things completely differently from what we do today. I met you in 1982-1983. We became close friends. Biff Tannen -- did whatever he did. Then, on October 26th, 1985, I built and successfully tested a time machine made from a DeLorean car. Apparently I got the power source necessary to power the machine from Libyan terrorists, and they showed up and killed me. You, attempting to flee them, went into the past. November 5th, 1955, if I remember correctly." Doc added a 1955 to the diagram closer to the past and drew an arc from 1985 to it. "You spent a week in the past attempting to correct a mistake you had made with your parents."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, this doesn't make sense. None of that ever happened. You said it didn't. I never went back in time and met my parents. They got together 'cause of a kid named Calvin Klein."

Doc smiled sadly. "Marty, when your other self arrived in 1955, he was hit by a car while chasing George. He was taken up to Lorraine's room and partially undressed by her. Back then, kid's names were often sewed into their underwear."

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"What brand underwear do you wear, Marty?"

Marty frowned. "Doc! I like you and all, but a guy's gotta have some privacy! Especially when his pal has only known him for a few days!"

"Just answer my question, kid," Doc said, applying slight hypnotic pressure.

Marty sighed, looking annoyed. "I wear Cal-vi -- oh, holy shit."

Doc moved closer, concerned. Marty had turned so white when he had realized what had happened that the scientist was afraid he would faint. "Marty? I know it's a lot to take in. Are you okay? Do you feel faint?"

"A little," Marty confessed. "Holy shit, Mom dated -- Mom kissed--" His eyes started to roll up. Doc gently bent him over and told him to take deep abdominal breaths to keep his bearings. After a few minutes, the teen felt good enough to sit up again. "Thanks. Jesus."

"I know. Amazing, isn't it? To know that some other version of yourself was responsible for your very existence?"

"Freaky," Marty mumbled. "So what happened with -- other me?"

"He changed the future, preventing my death and turning his parents into confident winners." Doc drew a tangent off the line, made a horizontal, and labeled the new line. "In effect, changing the time line into this new one. The old one was erased from existence." He used his sleeve to wipe away his first line beyond the tangent. "That's why I'm so close to you, Marty. I originally met you in 1955. The other you and the other me were very close. We became close rather quickly back in 1955." His mind drifted back to the night after they had used Marty's radiation suit to scare the pants off George. "So, naturally, when I see you, I think of the relationship we had back then. It's hard for me to remember that you grew up in completely different circumstances."

"It's okay," Marty said softly, amazed. "But what happened to turn that one into this one? I gotta know what other me did."

"I don't know. It's hard to say. Maybe you bought the book in your middle age and lost it. Maybe I convinced you to throw it away. Maybe it wasn't even your older self, but the other you, for some reason in the future. All we know is that you bought it, and somehow Old Biff found the book and contrived to give it to his younger self to gain riches. He got the time machine from us -- I wouldn't be surprised if he had killed us -- and went back to the past." Another, very large arc connecting FUTURE and PAST. "He gave the book--"

"Just a sec, Doc," Marty interrupted, seeing a hole in Doc's theory. "How did Old Biff know about the time machine?"

"Once again, I don't know. He might have built his own, but I have my doubts about that. He doesn't seem the type who would be able to build such a complex machine. So my theory is that he discovered our time machine and wrested it from us. As I was saying, Biff gave the book to young Biff, who amassed a fortune with it. Thus, the current time line was created, wiping the other out of existence." Doc drew a new tangent, labeled it, and erased the old one.

Marty shook his head, trying to process it all. "So -- we're living in a time line that was created by people from a different time line?" Doc nodded. "Whoa, this is heavy."

Doc smiled again at the familiar phrase. "Precisely. And sometime around October 21st, 2015, the universe will collapse. You see, now that Biff is rich and famous and I never invented my time machine, Biff will have no reason to steal the DeLorean when he's old. In fact, I doubt he'll live long enough to see the date he previously did. So the loop created by his actions cannot be perpetuated. The effect of the action negated the cause. Without the continuation of the loop, the universe is negated, effectively destroying everything in existence." He took a breath. "Of course, the damage could be limited to merely our own galaxy."

"And that's better _how_?" Marty shook his head. "I dunno if I believe ya, Doc. It's all so -- far-out."

"You saw with your own eyes the cane handle, the bag, and the receipt -- although how they got here is beyond me. And if you need further proof of your existence in 1955, here it is." Doc pulled from his pocket the old, yellowed letter and handed it to Marty. "Tell me that isn't your handwriting?"

Marty ran his eyes along the letter, amazed. "It's mine, all right," he whispered. He lowered it and looked at Doc. Suddenly, he completely understood his overprotectiveness, his ability to sense his emotions so well, how he only wanted to keep him happy. He smiled weakly. "Thanks for treating me like the other Marty."

"Marty's Marty, no matter what time line it is," Doc said, taking the letter back. "And I hope that soon we can go back to the one place that has remained consistent throughout all these time lines. I'm working on my own DeLorean time machine." Marty's eyes widened. "I was able to use the time in Southdale to mentally design everything for the circuitry and electronics, so hopefully I'll be able to test it soon, and we can escape to the past."

"I'll help any way I can, Doc, I promise," Marty said eagerly. "Can we go back to the past and undo what Biff did? Restore your time line thing?"

"I would, but it carries too much risk," Doc said sadly. "First of all, we have no idea how Young Biff received the Almanac from Old Biff. We'd have no idea of where to go. Also, we'd most likely erase ourselves from existence. If Young Biff never used the Almanac, the time line would be completely different. George would be alive, I most likely would have never met Josie, we'd be friends since -- since whenever. . . . We couldn't live in that sort of world. There would already be us-es populating it. We wouldn't fit in."

"We could hide and stuff. Nobody would have to know we were around, right?"

"That's not quite what I meant, Marty. Let me use an example from other Marty's life. He pushed George out of the way of a car. The car was supposed to hit George. That's how his parents originally met. If his parents never met, they couldn't fall in love, get married, or have kids. The ripple effect was slowly erasing him and his brother and sister from the time line."

"Ripple effect?"

"My name for the force that makes sure that paradoxes cannot occur, or that foreign time line objects remain in the time line. If he hadn't succeeded in getting George and Lorraine together, eventually he would have been completely erased from existence."

Marty looked lost. "But if I -- he -- was never born, he couldn't go back and stop them from meeting."

"You've got it, Marty. The situation has the other Marty existing and not existing at the same time. That violates all natural laws. So a paradox is created, and you know what happens next."

"How does that apply to getting the almanac away from Biff?" Marty wondered. 

"We're changing the time line, just as other Marty did. We would exist as we do now. So we would be erased from existence, replaced by our other selves. And if worst came to worst, create a paradox in the process."

"But how?" Marty asked, then caught on. "Hey, but our other selves wouldn't have a reason to go back and get the almanac from Biff. So he keeps it, we come back. . . ."

"Precisely," Doc sighed. "Nothing would make me feel better than to get revenge on that bastard, but it would have to be in the here and now. And judging from the current state of affairs, that would be a very dangerous move. I don't want to jeopardize either of our existences by revealing myself. Especially if Biff suspects I'm alive."

Marty looked rather disappointed. "I really want to get back at him. Do to him what he did to me. Are you _sure_ it wouldn't work to just take it away from him?"

"I can't be positive, but I can base my theory on what I knew in 1955. Sorry. Maybe someday, when it's safer, we'll have our revenge." Doc came closer to him. "But right now, I don't want to lose the only family I have. Marty, back in 1955, I felt exactly like your father. I would do anything for you. Let me be your father again."

Marty looked at him. His need was genuine, it was easy to see. And, to tell the truth, Marty wanted the same thing. Of course, it had only been 4 days. But he had never felt so at ease around anyone. His only memories of his real father were blurry and dull. He had wanted a family so badly too. . . . Sure, he had loved George McFly.

But after hearing all this, about how Doc had been waiting to be with him for over 30 years, he felt he could love Doc too, no problem. He smiled and held out his arms. "Sure thing, Doc -- Dad?"

Doc stared at him a moment, then pulled him close. "Dad. I've always wanted to hear that word connected with me." He patted Marty's back tenderly. "Do you mean that? Do you really want to call me Dad? Or are you just going along with me?"

"It feels a little weird," Marty admitted. "I mean, you've been feeling that way for -- what? 30 years? I've been feeling like that for 10 minutes."

"You don't have to call me that if you don't want to. I won't mind."

Marty shrugged. "I think I need a while to get used to the idea." Then he smiled. "But you can call me your kid, no problem."

Doc gave Marty a gentle squeeze. "Ich liebe Dich, mien Sohn," he murmured, recalling that nice night.

"What's that mean, Doc?" Marty asked, shifting around in his new father's embrace. 

"It's German. It means, 'I love you, my son'."

"Oh. Then -- what's 'father'?"

"Vater." Doc said, puzzled.

Marty snuggled into him, feeling warm and safe. "Ich liebe Dich, Vater," he whispered, ignoring the weirdness for the moment. "I mean it too."

Doc smiled and pulled Marty closer. _Okay, Biff, much as I hate to admit it -- I owe you one._ _Marty is definitely worth your life._


	9. Becoming Vampire, Part Deux

__Chapter 9

Monday, January 6th, 1986

Hill Valley

8: 10 P. M.

Marty looked around cautiously before proceeding on his way. He and Doc had seen some tough gangs in this area, and Marty didn't want to return home with a rearranged face. Satisfied none of them were around right then, he walked down the street to the closed drug store to make some "purchases". He needed food, and Doc needed some penlight batteries. Doc was busy working on the DeLorean, so he had entrusted Marty with the job.

Marty smiled as he broke in and got the stuff. The last few days living with Doc had been bliss. He had never expected things to be like this ever again, but they were. Doc was the best father a kid could ask for. He did everything he could to keep Marty safe and happy. Sure he was a little overprotective at times, but who cared? He knew when to back off and when to come close. They had even created a blood-link together 2 days ago. Doc wanted to make sure he could come to Marty's aid whenever he needed to. The teen had been a little reluctant to do it at first, but was glad he had. There was something very comforting in feeling Doc's heartbeat in his chest. 

He finished gathering up all their stuff and left, whistling happily. He couldn't wait to get back home and help Doc with the DeLorean. The faster they got it done, the quicker they could leave this hell. He tucked what he could under his arm and started on his way back to home.

Only to hear, "Hey! There he is!"

He whipped around to see Biff's goons heading toward him, guns drawn. Terrified, he took off down the street, dropping all the stuff. Luckily he had bought some liquid soap for the bathroom. The cheap container burst open as it hit the pavement, creating a gooey puddle. 2 of the goons slipped and fell. The third, 3-D, managed to avoid it and continued chasing the teen.

Marty zig-zagged, ducked down alleyways, and tried to blend into crowds, hoping desperately to get rid of the goon. Unfortunately, the geekiest-looking of Biff's gang was also the smartest. He kept easily on Marty's trail, finally cornering him in an alley. He grinned smugly. "Boy, are Match and Skinhead gonna be jealous. Biff promised Charlene to the guy who found you."

"You're not taking me back," Marty growled, trying to sound tough. At the same time he sent a mental alert to Doc. "I'm never going back."

3-D lifted his gun. "The boss never wanted you back," he said coldly. "He wanted you dead." He fired in the moment it took Marty to absorb that information.

The bullet ripped through Marty's stomach, causing him immense pain. Knocked over by the force, the teen was helpless to do anything as 3-D shot up twice more, once in the chest and once in the gut. He finished off with a kick for good measure. "Shoulda watched your back better, you little SOB. Thanks for helping me win Charlene." Snorting, he walked back to his fallen gang-mates.

Marty lay on the street, completely stunned for a moment. Then sharp, throbbing pains reminded him he was seriously hurt. He tried to get to his feet, but the pain was too much. He fell to his knees and coughed. A mouthful of blood came up. _He must have shot me in the lung,_ Marty realized in horror. He looked down to see his t-shirt and jeans getting dyed red from the bullet wounds. The sight made him gag. He vomited weakly, bringing up more blood than vomit. _How the hell could this happen? I'm supposed to be happy now. I'm supposed to be free. I'm not supposed to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want--_

"Shh."

Marty jerked his head around. Doc was kneeling over him, a look of intense sadness on his face. "Doc? Doc, help. . . ."

"Hush." As gently as possible, Doc lifted his adopted son's body. He very gently took off Marty's shirt, examining the wounds. They were definitely mortal. He felt tears well up in his eyes as Marty coughed up more blood. _He's drowning in his own life fluid._ He tenderly brought Marty's face up to look into his own. His brown eyes burned into the teen's blue ones. "What happened, Marty? Tell me everything."

Hypnotically strengthened, Marty related the entire incident. Doc lost control briefly as he listened. Why did everyone he love have to suffer? Why did he have to lose to death everyone he cared about. First Josie, then Einy, now --

"No."

"What?" Marty whispered, feeling nauseous again. 

"They're not taking you away from me. Not like they took Einy and Josie. They're not doing it again," Doc whispered, his eyes intense and glowing. He tore open his wrist with his fangs and pressed his bleeding wounds to Marty's.

"Doc? What the hell are you doing? Shouldn't you be feeding me that?"

"I can't. That cure won't work anymore. If you were internally bruised, I might have been able to save you in that manner. But gunshot wounds. . . . Infecting you is the only way to keep you alive." He lifted his wrist and sniffed the teen. Already he could smell the distinct vampire tinge in Marty's fast food. He very gently picked up his bleeding body and flew him back home. Marty clung to him the entire way, scared as hell.

Doc put him in bed the minute they got home. He grabbed some antibiotics from the store and fed them to Marty after cleaning out his wounds. Marty complained of being thirsty, but Doc was unsure if it would be wise to give him water. Finally, he decided to feed Marty some of his blood, both to relieve the teen's thirst and help heal his wounds. Compared to two days ago, Marty drank greedily. The wounds slowly began to close. _Amazing, it works that fast._

Promptly after finishing, Marty turned green. "Oh, shit," he moaned, trying to get up. Doc fetched a bucket and aided him in throwing up. "I feel worse than before."

"I'm sorry, Marty. The sickness is part of the change. Look into my eyes, I'll make you go to sleep."

"Thanks a lot, Doc." He willingly submitted himself to Doc's hypnotic powers, falling asleep quickly. For the next six hours, Marty drifted in and out of consciousness, his body racked with pain. Doc did all he could to keep him as comfortable as possible, making sure he remained asleep through most of the disease's course.

Finally, the moment came when Marty began to sink into the coma. Doc patted the teen's back as his breathing and heartbeat slowed to almost stopped. The scientist couldn't help but be a little relieved when it was all over and Marty was safely comatose. _Now I know how Josephine felt when she was caring for me._

He covered Marty gently with a blanket, fed Edison, and settled down to think. His thoughts immediately turned to revenge on the bastards that had nearly killed Marty. His first impulse was to go straight to Biff's hotel and sink his fangs into his neck. But he forced himself to remain with Marty. _Hold yourself in check, Emmett. Wait until Marty wakes up. The revenge will be even sweeter then. If you must bite someone, go for 3-D._

Tuesday, January 7th, 1986

Hill Valley

3: 46 P. M.

3-D headed for his permanent room in the Pleasure Paradise with a huge smile on his face. Charlene had been _fabulous._ She knew _just_ how to please a man. Match and Skinhead weren't talking to him, but that was okay. They'd be friends again soon enough. In the meantime, a stiff drink and some porno would be enough company for him.

He opened the door of his room, turned on the light--

And was greeted by the sight of Doc, dressed in the traditional black, sitting on his couch.

3-D nearly screamed in shocked terror. "What the -- how the hell did -- aren't you supposed to be--" he stammered, backing up against the door.

"I flew in, you shot Marty, and no, I'm not," Doc said cooly, rising. His eyes glowed with fire, making 3-D gulp. "I don't like it when my friends are nearly killed. Especially when the would-be murderer is a member of _his_ posse." 

3-D reached for a weapon, but Doc was too fast for him. He had him pinned to the wall in seconds. "Don't even think of fighting back," he growled, fully vamped. "In the interest in humanity, I _won't_ kill you. But I'll have my revenge. Whether you get seriously hurt while I have it or not is up to you."

The gang member knew when not to fight back. Being threatened by an enraged vampire was definitely one of those times. Shaking, he went limp. Doc greedily tore his throat and lapped the blood, causing 3-D to faint from shock. Doc drank him for a little while, then left him outside to be found by the maid or whoever. He gave the unconscious man a hard kick. "Let that be a lesson to you. _DON'T MESS WITH MY FAMILY_."

Thursday, January 9th, 1986

Hill Valley

8: 14 P. M.

Marty cracked open an eye. There was a bright, painful light nearby, so he shut it again. He moaned softly and attempted to stretch his aching muscles. His mouth felt cottony and dry, like he'd been asleep for a long time. Everything, even his eyelashes, felt like they were made of lead. It took all of what little energy he had to force his mouth to say the word, "Doc?"

"Welcome back, Marty." A strange, alluring scent reached the teen's nose. He sniffed, wondering what it was and where it was coming from. "How are you?"

"I feel paralyzed," Marty admitted slowly. "My muscles don't want to work."

"I'm not surprised. It's been three days, two minutes, and 40 seconds since you sank into coma."

_Three whole days? Wow._ "I'm thirsty. Can I have a drink?"

"I expected that too." The wonderful smell came closer. Some of the heaviness evaporated from Marty's limbs. His mouth watered as he felt a bottle being placed against his lips. "Drink up."

The teen eagerly did so, grabbing the bottle and downing it in one long, satisfying swallow. The rich taste of freshly-heated blood cascaded down his throat, filling his empty stomach. Energy flooded his tired muscles, awakening his senses. Eager for more blood to soothe his thirst, he sat up and opened his eyes.

And immediately had to close them again.

Doc rubbed his back, allowing Marty to orient himself to the new sensations he was experiencing. "It's okay, Marty, it's okay. I felt the same way when I first woke up. At least you don't have to dig your way out of a grave."

"What the hell is happening to me, Doc?" Marty mumbled, his face buried in his hands.

"Vampire senses. Just let the sensations wash over you, Marty. Don't try to shut them out. Wait a few minutes, then look up again."

Slowly, Marty lifted his head. He blinked, astonished. The house seemed -- brighter, somehow. Normally, when the lights were off, it was nearly impossible for him to see. But now he could see everything perfectly. He looked around, taking it all in. He noticed new details he had never seen before. Completely enthralled, he got up slowly and went to the window. The streets literally glowed with life.

And the sounds! The throb of the Town Square sounded impossibly close, and much louder. He could hear every breath, every heartbeat, every footstep of anyone nearby. The mere clatter of a can on the sidewalk sounded like an earthquake. It was simply incredible.

Inhaling deeply, Marty shut his eyes and savored the different scents. There was a broccoli nearby, and a chocolate bar, and a bottle of Dom Pierre, like Biff drank on special occasions. . . .

He turned to look at Doc. "Hey, you weren't a boozer by any chance, were you Doc?"

Doc found the question amusing. "Are you kidding? I couldn't drink at all. I'd lose control after just one sip and fall down in a stupor. Why do you ask?"

"You smell like alcohol. Like one of those fancy wines Biff keeps around."

Doc blinked, puzzled. "Huh. No wonder I never recognized my own scent." Then his eyes glowed evilly. "Speaking of Biff, you want to find out what _he_ smells -- and _tastes_ like? Probably horse manure, but who cares."

Marty nodded, his own eyes beginning to glow brilliant blue. "Dammit, what I wouldn't give to sink my fangs into that bastard," he growled, the aforementioned dental work extending. "Give back even a fraction of what he gave me."

"Then why don't we?" Doc whispered, fully vamped himself. "As long as we avoid the other guests and Biff's gang, we're perfectly safe. We'll get him late at night and each have a nice, long drink. We'll leave him alive, though, so everyone _else_ who's got a grudge against him can get their revenge as well." He smiled. "I'm nothing if not fair."

"I get dibs," Marty growled back, also smiling. "And a chance to fling him around a little."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Doc shook hands with Marty. "Excuse the cliche -- but it's payback time!"

Friday, January 10th

1: 00 A. M.

Biff Tannen finally decided that he had insomnia and got up. Despite all evidence to the contrary, such as his gruff, disinterested manner, he was nervous. Was Dr. Brown still alive? Did he know his secret? A crazy, wild-eyed scientist, the old man had said back in 1955. Dr. Brown certainly fit _that_ bill. And the fact he'd helped George McFly made him doubly dangerous. Biff couldn't rest easy until he was sure the bastard was dead. 

He wandered into the living room and headed for the bar. He pulled out a bottle of Scotch, poured himself two fingers, and gulped it down. He repeated the process a few times before becoming lost in thought. 

Marty was bothering him too. That kid had been acting very strangely lately. In October, he had come home early for some reason, behaving completely out of character. For some reason, he seemed shocked to learn things he had known for 12 years! And later, when he had revealed he knew about Gray's Sports Almanac. . . . Well, he wasn't sure if that was real or not. The whole thing _had_ ended with some sort of looney dream. Although whey he would hallucinate a flying DeLorean was beyond him.

He gulped down some more Scotch - then heard a noise behind him. He smiled in a loathsome way. "Charlene, baby?" he asked, turning around.

There stood a rather smug-looking Marty McFly.

Biff jerked back, stumbling into the bar. _Has Lorraine been mixing these again?_ "What the hell are you doing here?!" he roared. "You're supposed to be dead!"

"It's time to settle an old score, Biff," Marty said, moving forward a few steps.

"3-D said he shot you! 3 times! You couldn't have found a doctor in time you filthy little son-of-a-b*tch! And how'd you get past my security downstairs?"

"You could say I found a doctor," Marty replied calmly, still advancing. "And I didn't come from downstairs."

"There's no upstairs," Biff pointed out.

"Very good. You get a cookie."

"Whaddya do, arrive in a flying DeLorean like last time?" Biff asked, tossing the glass at Marty's head.

Marty ducked and paused, confused. "What?"

Biff nodded, pleased to see he'd briefly gained the upper hand. "Yeah, a flying DeLorean," he said, looking for a way to get to his office. He had a gun in the drawer, maybe this time he could actually succeed in getting this loser out of his life. "Smacked me right in the kisser. You know about that book too, huh? And the manure thing. Damn it, kid, how'd you find out?"

"I haven't a clue what the hell you're talking about," Marty admitted, looking at him. "You're not hopped up, are you Biff?"

"What if I am?" Biff challenged.

"Nothing." Marty smiled again, vamping as he did so. "I just didn't expect my first real meal to be druggie blood."

Biff went dead white, eyes bulging. "You -- you--" he mouthed, gasping like a dead fish. Marty simply ran a tongue over his fangs and moved in for the kill. Biff bolted to his office, knowing it was now or never time. Marty leapt up above the doorway, growling. Biff searched for something to distract him, but the teen was on him in a second. Hissing, "This is for every second of time we had to spend together," he chomped down. Biff fainted from shock. Marty happily drank his blood -- then abruptly made a face and spit it out. "Yuck! Auggh! Disgusting!"

"Marty?" Doc's voice called. "Are you all right?"

"He tastes like shit," Marty yelled back, tossing the limp tyrant over to one side. "My mouth tastes like I just drank out of a toilet."

Doc entered the room, looking annoyed. "Damn. I was hoping we'd catch him on a clean night. I suppose we'll have to settle for a less refined form of revenge." He walked over to Biff, who was coming to. "Hello, Tannen."

Biff yelped. "You too?! Damn it, I _knew_ you were in cahoots! Where is it?"

"What?"

"The DeLorean, you butt-head! I saw it! Where the hell did you get a flying DeLorean?! And how the hell do you know about my book?!"

Doc looked at Marty. "What have you been telling him?" he asked sternly.

"Nothing, he laid that load on me the minute I came in."

Doc turned back to Biff, who was trying to crawl away. Doc grabbed him by his cheap-looking bathrobe and towed him back. "I want to hear more about this flying DeLorean," he growled, vamping as he spoke.

"You smacked me in the jaw with the door, you @**hole! What, you don't remember that? It was only a few months ago! This little shit--" Doc snarled warningly "--comes home, acts like he doesn't even remember the last 17 years of his life, tells me he knows all about Gray's Almanac, then escapes by jumping on your car!" Biff shook his head. "I thought I was imagining all of that crap, but now you two showing up--"

Doc looked as confused as Marty. "I haven't a clue as to what you're talking about. And, frankly, I don't care." He grabbed Biff in a death grip and slammed him to the floor. "I'm going to get you back for every day I had to spend in that mental institution. Come along, Marty, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Make the most of it."

Marty gladly did so, and they tossed Biff around like he was a rag doll. The tyrant tried to fight back, but he was completely helpless against a pair of vampires with deep grudges against him. Eventually he followed 3-D's example and let them abuse him. Once they had got it out of their systems, they hypnotized Biff into forgetting and dumped him in the hot tub. "Whoa, I thought we would have hurt him worse," Marty shrugged, noting the lack of bruises on Biff's body.

"It's not the quantity of the pain he experienced, it's the quality. We have refunded the agony that he had visited upon us. That's all that matters." Doc checked his watch. "We have to get home. We have to get everything important to us out of the house. It's likely Biff might remember part of this night, so we'll have to exchange residences."

"Huh?"

"Move," Doc clarified. "Out of my old house. The old mine will serve as a temporary shelter until--"

"What the hell are you doing here, you little SOB? And who's your friend?"

The pair turned to see Lorraine, glaring at them. She was weaving, obviously very drunk. "Why the hell did you come back? Begging me to take you back? Go to hell, you little bastard."

Marty flashed his fangs at her. "I don't need you anymore." 

Lorraine shrieked in surprised terror and fled back into the bedroom. Marty started to go after her, but Doc held him back. "No, Marty. Let her be. She suffers enough at Biff's hands. We got what we wanted."

Marty looked at the door, then at Biff. His anger drained. "You're right. I don't need her anymore, like I said. C'mon, let's go pick up Edison and our stuff."


	10. Josie's Back!

__Chapter 10

Saturday, February 1st, 1986

Hill Valley

6: 02 P. M.

Josephine opened her eyes. She stretched, yawned, and patted the head of her fledgling, curled up beside her. _Well, another day in paradise,_ she thought sarcastically. 

She got up and looked around their home. A side tunnel of an old abandoned mine wouldn't have been her first choice, but it was the best she could do at the moment. She still wasn't completely recovered from her accident, so leaving Hill Valley was out. And besides, her sister was out there, somewhere. She never wanted Lacy to find Jennifer. The teen was all she had left for love. 

Josephine looked at her "child" and smiled. Jennifer was a short girl, with brown hair that had once been fluffy but was now dull and stringy. Her brown eyes were quite pretty, but marred by her deep cynicism. Jennifer considered life a necessary evil to be lived, not something to enjoy. She also harbored a deep hatred of men, which Josephine could understand easily. After all, having to become a prostitute at ten after both your parents die. . . . It wasn't hard to see how she would develop that attitude. She did have her soft side, though. Josephine adored her. It was so nice, having someone to be with, especially after Emmett. . . .

Emmett. Josie frowned as she thought of him. She had thought of seeking him out once she had fully healed, but had vetoed the idea. She knew that one of two things had happened: 1. Emmett had learned of her death and had destroyed himself, or 2. He had attempted the trip to Switzerland on his own after giving up on her. Either way, she'd never see him again. Even their blood-link had been destroyed. The thought made her want to cry, as it always did. Somehow she held her tears back.

Jennifer came awake with a slight start. She noticed Josie's depressed look immediately. "Hey, Josie, why so blue?" She had never been able to call her vampire creator "Mom". It brought back too many bad memories for her.

"Just thinking of a friend I lost a while ago," Josephine sighed. "It hurts to know I'll never see him again."

Jennifer patted her on the back. "It's okay, Josie. We've got each other, right? We don't need any guys to boss us around."

Josephine smiled and pulled her into a hug. "No we don't. And no one's ever going to separate us, I assure you. _Ever_."

Saturday, February 1st

8: 49 P. M.

"Hurry up, kid! I think we're reaching a breakthrough in the realm of time travel! I want to start work on the car as soon as possible!"

Marty beat his wings harder and caught up to the eager Doc. "I can't help but look around, Doc," he said, cruising along. "Flying always gives me a thrill. I still can't believe I can do it."

"After almost a month of it?" Doc reached out and ruffled Marty's hair, which was quickly smoothed back again by the wind. "I can understand how you feel though, Marty. It never gets less exciting. I love flying. It's the most wonderful sensation in the world."

"You've got that right." Marty did a back flip, just for the hell of it. "Do you really think we're getting close?"

"All my instincts tell me we are. The flux capacitor appears to work, the time circuit controls definitely do. All we need is to run more preliminary tests on the capacitor, add on the last of the electronics, find a suitable power source, and test. If it works, we rescue Josephine from her fiery demise and disappear forever into the past."

"How far back are we going, Doc? Got a specific time in mind?"

"Not really, no. We'll have to be careful, though. We can't take a chance on affecting history. No matter how badly we want to. The consequences could be disastrous."

Marty sighed. "I still wish we could stop Biff from getting his hands on the almanac."

"You're not the only one, as you saw when we rescued those homeless people."

"Tell me again why we can't. I still don't understand."

"We would effectively erase ourselves from existence. You're not thinking 4th dimensionally, Marty. We would be changing the time in which we lived in. We wouldn't be compatible anymore. There would already be people with our identities there. So we would logically not be able to exist in that world. Our spots would already be taken, as it were."

"That sorta makes sense, but still. . . ."

Doc patted him on the back. "I'm sorry, Marty. I don't want to take those kinds of risks. Even if it were possible, we couldn't. We have no idea where to start. We should focus on escaping, not change."

They landed just outside the cave's mouth and headed in to do their usual work on the DeLorean. Edison greeted them with his usual happy barks. As Marty knelt down to pet him, though, his sensitive nose picked up a somewhat familiar scent. "Hey, Doc! You smell that?"

Doc sniffed the air. His eyes widened in surprise. "Great Scott, vampires!" he whispered. "Apparently we have new neighbors."

"But I thought _we_ were the only ones who knew about this place," Marty whispered back.

"The mine has a lot of side tunnels I've never explored, in here, Marty." Doc extended his fangs, sniffing cautiously. "I'm going to do a danger assessment. It might be a soulless vampire."

"What's that?"

"A vampire like us, only with a Biff-like personality. I've only met one or two, but those meetings were enough." Doc started stalking the smell, Marty close behind.

At the same time, a recently refreshed Josephine and Jennifer both lifted their heads to smell the air. "Uh-oh," Josie said, vamping and growling. "There's more than toxic chemicals around."

"Vampires," Jennifer agreed, also vamping. "Think they're soulless? Or guys?"

"Maybe, but it's no excuse to attack them if they're men. If they're soulless, that's a different matter. Let's check 'em out."

"You bet, Josie." They headed down to the main cavern.

Doc paused and listened carefully. "They're heading this way. Get ready to fight if need be, but stay back and let me take the first offensive."

A few feet away, Josie overheard a voice. "Yup, there they are. Hang back before I attack, then jump in."

The older vampires drew closer to each other, preparing to attack. Finally Josie leapt, snarling, fingers bent into claws. Doc was knocked over, but gave back as good as he got, kicking and biting. They rolled around on the floor for a minute, then Doc pinned Josie. Still growling, they glared into each other's faces.

The noise caught in both their throats. They lay there for a moment, staring in total shock. _It can't be. . . ._ Doc was the first to speak. "Josephine?" he whispered.

"Emmett?" she whispered back.

There was another silence. Then Doc grabbed Josephine in a paroxysm of joy. "Josie! Oh, God, Josie. . . . I thought you were dead. . . . Oh, Josie, are you really there, or am I hallucinating? Can it really be you?"

"It's really me, Emmett, I'm right here," she murmured as she kissed him deeply. "I've missed you so much. . . . I thought maybe -- maybe you'd killed yourself, or left me forever. . . . Emmett, I'm so glad to see you!"

The 2 young vampires gawked at the scene. "Uh, Doc, you want to introduce me?"

"You don't have to bother with me," Jennifer said, glaring at Marty.

"Jennifer, be nice," Josephine scolded slightly. "This is Emmett, the man I met in the mental asylum." Smiling sappily at him, she added, "My one true love."

Doc hugged her hard. "Oh, Josie, I'm so glad to see you." He looked back at Marty with a big grin. "This is Josephine, Marty. My creator."

"Oh, so _this_ is the infamous Marty!" Josephine grinned. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Likewise," Marty said, smiling politely. "But Doc always told me you were dead."

"That's what I truly believed. What _did_ happen, Josephine? I thought being burned to death was basically the end of a vampire. How on earth did you escape the crematorium?"

"It wasn't easy. . . ."

_Flashback_

_Tuesday, November 26th, 1985_

_Hill Valley_

_5: 42 P. M._

_Josephine awoke abruptly to searing heat. _What the -- where the hell am I_? she wondered, opening her eyes. _

_She nearly screamed in horror. All around her were large flames, burning anything and everything in the room to a crisp. She was in a crematorium! Desperate, she struggled to her feet. Her body was already alight, but at least she wasn't dead yet. She dashed to the door and started pounding, hoping that someone would see and free her. Unfortunately, the normal attendants had left the fire alone for a few minutes, figuring the person inside wouldn't mind. She glanced down in terror as the flames burnt her skin practically to ash. She would die in just a few minutes if she didn't _do_ something. . . ._

_She grabbed the door and started twisting it. Even in her weakened state, she was strong enough to wrench it off. She bolted out of the chamber, then dropped and rolled to put out the flames. Before anyone could see her, she had vanished out a window._

_Josie collapsed by the wall and looked at herself. Her skin was almost completely blackened, and here and there it was burned completely away. All the hair on her body had been scorched off. Her muscles were burnt, her blood cooked. She was half-blind from the damage done to her eyes, and her sense of smell was impaired. Basically, she looked like a living barbeque. _

_She managed to slink off to a small patch of sick trees in the cemetery. She was so weak, and so thirsty. . . . Spotting a rat, she grabbed it and drank it dry. It wasn't much, but it helped. She made herself a little nest in the dead leaves and let herself sink into another healing coma._

_Saturday, November 30th, 1985_

_Hill Valley_

_6: 43 P. M._

_Josephine lay against a tombstone, trying to get up the energy to hunt for food. The last few days had been a haze of feeding on what little blood she could find and resting. Her body was healing excruciatingly slow, and she was beginning to wonder if she would ever heal at all. No vampire she had known had survived a trip to a crematorium. And with the only blood sources available to her small animals, she was considering giving up and going into coma permanently._

_The noise of running footsteps caught her ear. She turned in it's direction to see a girl in a skimpy outfit, with multiple welts and bruises on her body. She was being chased by a guy in a sleazy outfit, with many gold chains and rings. _Must be a prostitute and her pimp_, Josie reasoned, slowly starting to stand._

_Suddenly, the girl turned and ran full tilt towards her. Josie had no time to move before the young hooker was sprawled across her lap. She looked at the vampire with a look of disgust. "Yuck, who the heck--"_

_"Can I help you?"_

_The girl screamed in horror and scrambled to get away. Josie grabbed her ankle and held on. "Wait a sec, kid, I can help you!"_

_"You're a horribly burned corpse! You're not even supposed to be alive!"_

_"But I _am_ alive, and I'm in a generous mood. Want to make a deal?" Josie grinned, very happy that events had turned this way. If all went well. . . ._

_"What sort of a deal?" the girl panted, eyes still shining with fear. Josephine got a better look now at the various injuries decorating her body. It made her blood boil._

_"Simple. You help me, I help you. You assist me in healing, I get rid of your pimp."_

_The girl's eyes grew round. "You couldn't get rid of Jerry. Believe me, some of the older girls have tried."_

_"Believe me, none of those girls were like me."_

_Jerry caught up to them, looking totally out of breath. "There you are, you little b*tch," he snarled, grabbing the girl's arm tightly and yanking her roughly to her feet. "You're gonna be so sorry you ran." He slapped her full across the face, taking no notice of Josephine at all._

_The girl looked down at the prone vampire. She inclined her head, praying the hooker took her up on her offer. The girl glanced back at Jerry, then nodded. Josie smiled and stood up. Jerry, in astonishment, dropped the girl back onto the ground. Before he could get any of his bearings, Josephine had vamped and was on his throat._

_The prostitute watched in astonishment as Josie drained the life from her pimp. Before her very eyes, some of the severe scorching on the vampire's body healed, and small stubbled hair grew on her head, dirty blond in color. She tossed the body aside and looked back at the hooker. "You don't know how much that meant to me. What's your name, by the way?"_

_"Jennifer," the girl breathed. "Jennifer Parker. What are you?"_

_"A vampire by the name of Josephine Grey. One who had a bad run-in with the local crematorium." She looked down at her burned body. "Jennifer, I need help. I haven't been getting enough blood to heal my body. And due to my weakened state, I'm not so great at hunting on my own anymore. So I'm offering you a deal. Help me get the blood I need, and I promise to shelter you from all this. No one will ever touch you again if you don't want them too, now that you're under my protection. Do we have a deal?"_

_Jennifer looked a little skeptical, but stuck out her hand. "Deal, Miss Grey. I don't know what to make of all of it, but it's gotta be better than the life I'm living now."_

_End Flashback_

Doc looked at the girl behind Josephine, who was regarding him and Marty very suspiciously. "And I take it this is Jennifer?"

"Yes," Josie smiled, slipping an arm around her. "Stuck by me through these past two months. She helped me like no one else could at the time, and I repaid her with immortality. We're very close."

Doc held out his hand. "Very nice to meet you Jennifer."

Jennifer hung back, scowling. Puzzled, Doc looked back at Josie, who smiled sheepishly. "She's not too fond of men. Like I mentioned, she's a former prostitute." She looked curiously at Marty. "How on earth did you make it to Switzerland and back to get him?"

"I didn't have to. He came to me." Doc related all that had happened to him since his awakening as the two younger vampires eyed each other. "I hope you aren't upset with me for my behavior."

Josie smiled. "With my sister and Biff, I think I'd make an exception for what you did. But what are you doing here?"

"Working on the DeLorean. I picked up right where I left off before. Marty's been assisting me, and we're starting to make some real progress."

"Emmett, that's wonderful! Does that mean we can get out of this sh*thole?"

"With any luck at all, and we seem to be having plenty of it," Doc said sappily, pulling Josie close again. Both younger vampires rolled their eyes at the display. 

"Do we really have to live with two _men_, Josie?" Jennifer complained, shooting a venomous look at Marty. "You know what they're all like."

"Emmett's different, Jennifer," Josephine said sternly. "You don't have to interact with them if you don't like, but it'll be much more pleasant for all involved if you do."

Jennifer just shrugged. Josephine and Doc headed back towards the car, chatting happily. In the haze of joy over being together again, they were oblivious to the young, depressed vampires.

Sunday, February 2nd, 1986

Hill Valley

5: 23 A. M.

Marty and Jennifer settled down at opposite sides of the mine as their internal clocks informed them of sunrise. Casting one last nervous look at each other, they went to sleep. Josephine watched the scene a little worriedly. "Why don't they want to be with each other? We're all going to be together from now on. I want them to be friends."

"They only met today," Doc rationalized, letting her snuggle against him. He had really missed feeling her warmth against his body, their breaths mingling softly. . . . "Give it time. They both have their own social problems to deal with, of course. Jennifer hates our sex, and Marty needs time to trust others. I had to be patient when we first met. He was scared of everyone else on the planet. He felt like he was the world's whipping boy. I got him to open up to me, but it took a few weeks before we became truly close." Doc suddenly looked at Josie, a question forming in his mind. "Josephine, Marty and I created a blood link two days before I had to change him. But it's still there, strong as ever. Ours is gone. Why?"

Josephine sighed. "I think because I nearly died, it got snapped," she explained sadly. "I know that, if we had still had it, all this would have never happened." She glanced around at the mine they had fashioned into a home. "Actually, us not knowing about the other seems to have been a good thing, so far as it went. We have a family now."

"Very true," Doc whispered, holding her tight. "Is the bond permanently broken? Or would it be possible to -- revive it?"

"I don't know. No one's ever tried before."

"Then let's," Doc said, nibbling her ear. Her unique smell -- a fresh summer rain -- her silky body, her very _presence_ was exciting him. He licked her throat, then allowed his lips to slip to her mouth. She responded eagerly, pressing her hips to his tightly. Doc murmured a naughty something unintelligible to human ears and started to undress her.

She stopped him gently. "A side tunnel," she purred into his ear. "It's private, and we won't startle the kids."

Doc nodded, eyes already glowing brightly. Snickering like naughty schoolchildren, they dashed into one of the tunnels.

A hour later, Doc finally relaxed, panting. "Forgotten how good this could be," he breathed, kissing his partner.

"So had I," Josie murmured, licking him. "And it worked. I can feel you again." She pressed her hand to her chest, feeling her triple heartbeats. "You and Jennifer. Makes for a good combination, I think."

"Same here with you and Marty." They cuddled together, relishing each other's body heat. "I'm sure they'll grow to like each other. Jennifer seems like the type who is secretly a big softie."

"She is," Josie grinned. "It's just that, all the abuses she's suffered at the hands of her clients. . . . She thinks all men are sex-hungry, sadistic beasts. I've tried to tell her that I knew one man personally who wasn't like that, but she won't listen!"

"Like I said, give it time. Everything will work out eventually, and we'll be able to escape to the past." Doc's brow furrowed. "For some reason, I can't get it out of my head that I've seen Jennifer before somewhere. It's not the fact she's a cynical former prostitute that's bothering me -- it's her face itself. I know I've seen it somewhere, but I just _can't_ put my finger on it!"

"Don't worry about it, Emmett. It doesn't matter if or when you've seen her before. The important thing is that we're all together." She pulled him down to kiss him. Doc shoved the bothersome thoughts out of his head and concentrated on enjoying Josie.__

Wednesday, February 5th, 1986

Hill Valley

6: 59 P. M.

Marty looked on silently as Doc and Josephine cracked up over a joke she had just told him. He could feel the love Doc held for her through his link, and it hurt. He scowled and kicked a rock by his feet. Why did things always have to turn out crappy for him? He had expected Josephine's return as a joyous event, where he finally got a proper family after 12 years. He and Doc would remain as close as ever, while he and Josephine got to know each other. Sure, Doc and Josie would spend time together, but things wouldn't be changed too drastically for him. Instead he got a woman who simply made Doc forget about him. And brought baggage of her own, besides. _Damn it, why am I the one who always gets the short end of the stick? Doc said he _loved_ me. That he cared about me. Then he dumps me in 10 seconds for some floozy who didn't even try to find him when he thought she was dead._

On the opposite side of the cave, Jennifer slouched against the wall. She should have known her thing with Josephine wouldn't last. The vampire had _used_ her, she believed. Just so she could go throw herself into the arms of a man who had essentially abandoned her to the elements. Jennifer didn't believe the "I thought you were dead" story. She knew what men were like. And having Josie say they had to _live_ with _two_ of them! . . . Well, "disgusted" would be putting it mildly. _Why do I trust people at all?_ she wondered angrily, glowering at the two. _None of them really care for me. I'm just somebody they can have their fun with, then drop like a hot rock the minute someone new comes along. I thought you were different, Josephine, but apparently I was wrong!_

The loving couple both frowned. Marty and Jennifer had been rather cool towards them both lately, and now through their respective links, they could tell the teens were very upset. Josephine looked at Emmett. _They probably want attention,_ she thought, shielding her thoughts from them. _We have been ignoring them lately._

_I know. I was simply so happy to see you I guess I sort of forgot about Marty. We'd best make amends._ They parted, sending a mental message to each of their fledglings. _Marty? Can we talk?_

_Sure_. The noncommital tone to Marty's mental "voice" worried Doc.

_What's wrong? I know I haven't been paying much attention to you, but--_

_Holy shit, you finally noticed me. Do you even remember what my name is?_ Doc drew back, further startled by Marty's heavy sarcasm. _I know what I am now, you bastard. I was the replacement. I was the kid you could use for whatever you needed until you got your precious Josephine back! I see it now! Some unlucky kid comes along, you decide you could use his help, you twist his mind around a little, then dump him the minute you get what you want! I shoulda known! I should have known you didn't really love me! You were just using me, you -- you -- you!_

_Marty, that's not true at all!_ Doc "shouted" back, horrified by Marty's accusations.

_Oh yes it is! I fall for this shit every time! Nobody gives a flying f*** about me! You know what? Take her! It's obvious you don't need _me_ anymore!_

With that, he stomped out of the cave and flew off. He was followed closely by Jennifer, who had had a nearly identical conversation with Josephine. The 2 older vampires stared at each other. "Boy, _that's_ a reaction I didn't expect," Josie muttered, shocked by their attitudes. She looked at Doc. "Are you mad at me? I'm not mad at you, but I definitely won't blame you if you are. I know how much you care about that kid."

"Apparently I'm not showing it very well," Doc mumbled, looking like he was about to cry. "We'd better go after them. The last time Marty was out, it became the time I had to make him into a vampire."

Josephine looked slightly reluctant. "I think we're the last people they want to see right now. And I'm sure they can take care of themselves."

"Don't tell me you're not worried."

"I'm terrified," Josie admitted. "I don't want anything to happen to either of them. But it's not like we can't quickly find them -- Oh, shit," she whispered, her tone changing to fear. "They've blocked us out completely."

The 2 older vampires stared at each other a moment. Then they both bolted out of the cave.

Wednesday, February 5th

7: 04 P. M.

Marty landed in an alley, starting to cry. He couldn't believe that all this shit kept happening to him. _If I knew how to kill myself as a vampire, I would,_ he thought, slumping down into the corner. _Save me a lot of pain. Why can't I find one person who--_

His thoughts were interrupted by Jennifer dropping down next to him. "Hey, what the heck are you doing here?" he demanded, wiping his eyes.

"None of your business," Jennifer snapped back. 

"Considering it was your 'mother' that took Doc away from me, I think it _is_ my damn business," Marty snarled. 

"You're blaming _Josephine_?! It was all your precious Doc's fault! You men are all alike! You don't give a shit for what us women feel! I met so many perverts in my days on the streets. . . . You're all sex-mad @$$h0les! One of you tried to beat up one of my friends, it was a miracle the Dark Angels turned up in time. . . ."

Marty's eyes widened. "You're friends with Linda? Jesus Christ, how is she? Ever since we had to stop that punk from beating the shit out of her--"

Jennifer blinked in astonishment. "Wait a minute! You're one of the Dark Angels?? And you know Linda?"

"Linda's my sister," Marty whispered. "Yeah, me and Doc are the Dark Angels. We rescue people on the street. I could never hurt a hooker, not knowing my sister is one. And Dave's a drunk, so they're out too. . . ."

Jennifer cocked her head. Something about his manner convinced her he was telling the truth. "So you're _that_ Marty McFly," she whispered, settling down beside him. "What was it like, living with Biff Tannen?"

"Not much better than your days on the streets, I bet," Marty said with a heavy sigh. "I mean, Switzerland wasn't so bad, even though I never really got close to anybody. Coming home was hell. Biff took any and every excuse to beat me up. His gang got in on a lot of it too." He showed Jennifer the scars crisscrossing his back. "That was 3-D. The same guy who shot me. I would have died if it hadn't been for Doc."

"Why don't you call him Dad?" Jennifer asked, getting interested in spite of her prejudice. "You two certainly seem close enough for it, judging from what I saw when you were the Dark Angels."

"I dunno. He's close enough to be my dad, but he isn't my real dad. Do you ever call Josephine 'Mom'?" Jennifer shook her head. "Same thing with me. It's still too odd-sounding." He glanced at Jennifer. "He's my only family now, though. I guess I'm jealous of all the attention Josephine's getting."

"Ditto," Jennifer mumbled. Suddenly she laughed. "Look at me. I'm on speaking terms with a guy. Josie wouldn't believe it."

"Maybe we should let them know where we are," Marty considered. "I don't feel as pissed at them anymore." Jennifer nodded, and they opened their links.

Instantly Doc and Josie were in the alley, hugging them so tight it hurt. "Don't _ever_ do that again without warning me!" Doc said, trying and failing not to sound relieved. "Damn it, Marty, you scared me! I know you were angry at me, and you have every right to be--"

"Jennifer, why on earth did you turn it off?" Josie said angrily but thankfully. "You know how I get! You mean so much to me--"

Both teens hugged their respective "parent". "I suppose you do love us still," Marty said.

"I'm sorry, Marty. But you have to understand, Josephine is my soul mate. I know that seems like a overly romantic concept, but it's the truth."

"He's right. I've never met a man like him before, never been as deeply in love before. We're right for each other, Jennifer," Josie agreed. "Listen, why don't we show you two? Maybe you'll understand more then." Both older vampires allowed the younger ones to peer into their memories and see how much they meant to each other. Marty and Jennifer had to admit, if they had had a girlfriend/boyfriend they loved that much, they probably would have gone nuts upon seeing them again too. They responded with how abandoned they had felt when the two lovebirds had gotten back together. 

"I know, and I'm sorry," Josie responded, hugging Jennifer again. "We'll tone down all the sappy stuff. You deserve our love too."

"That's right. We're a family, and woe betide anyone who tries to split us up," Doc said, his arm around Marty's shoulders. "All of us. Come on, let's go home and see if we can work on our relationships."

"Way ahead of you, Doc," Marty said, smiling at Jennifer. She smiled back. Things were getting back on track.


	11. Back to the Past

__Chapter 11

Thursday, February 20th, 1986

Hill Valley

9: 02 P. M.

Doc ran his eye along the machine sitting before him. His experienced vampire senses detected nothing out of the ordinary. He got in and ran a crude diagnostic test, switching on and off various parts and testing them. He was very pleased to find that everything checked out. It was time. The DeLorean was ready for testing.

The rest of his family admired the sleek car. "Emmett, it's wonderful," Josephine whispered, stroking the line of the trunk. "I think the time travel parts actually enhance the car's looks."

"It's rather crude compared to what I saw in 1955," Doc admitted. "I had to improvise some of the parts that weren't built due to Biff's influence. Thank God I got the microchip before I got committed."

"Who cares if it's crude?" Jennifer said, scratching Edison's head. Over the past two weeks, she had managed to accept Doc and Marty as members of her new family. In fact, she had some interesting feelings when it came to Marty, which the teen shared back. "As long as it gets us out of here, it could be a refrigerator for all I care."

"To tell the truth, one of my prototype designs was just that," Doc laughed.

"How are we gonna test it, Doc.?" Marty inquired. "We gonna use Edison like other you used Einstein?"

Doc shook his head, hopping out. "If that thing malfunctions, I don't want anyone that I care about in it. Nope, inanimate objects get the pleasure this time." He pulled off his left wrist watch, verified the time against his right and the time circuits, then placed it on the front seat. He set the time circuits for 2 minutes in the future, then retrieved a very clunky-looking remote from behind the seat. "There," he said, closing up the gull-wing door. "If the machine functions correctly, my watch inside the car should skip over roughly 2 minutes of time." He used the remote to start the DeLorean. "Fingers crossed."

"When did you build that monster?" Josephine asked as Doc steered the DeLorean out of the cave.

"The remote? I had these designs to go along with my time machine plans. Granted, it's crude, but it works." He maneuvered the DeLorean onto a nearby dirt road and hit the accelerator switch. The car zoomed down the road, picking up speed. "45 - 55 - 65 - 75 - 85 -88!"

The coils on the sides of the car began to glow bright blue. A flux generator on top of the roof began sending out flashes of light. The group watched in amazement as a shield of what seemed to be light formed in front of the "nose". Then, with a brilliant flash and a sonic burst of sound, it vanished, leaving behind a pair of fire trails. 

Euphoric could not have described Doc's state. "IT WORKS! IT WORKS!" he screamed, pulling everyone else into a bone-crushing hug. "It really really works! I observed all of that back in 1955! Yippee!" He happily jumped up and down for a bit, then checked his watch and did a quick mental calculation. "It left at exactly 9: 06: 00, so it should be returning at 9: 08: 00."

"But didn't you set the time circuits at 9: 05?" Jennifer asked in confusion.

"Yeah, Doc, I saw the present time," Marty added. "So it should be coming at 9: 07, shouldn't it?"

"Hmm. . . . Didn't think about that. I suppose you're right. Maybe I could add something for short hops like this -- like an automatic time adjuster."

Josie literally leapt into Doc's arms for joy. "Oh, Emmett, this is wonderful! We can finally get out of here!" She looked back at the scorched earth left behind after the flaming trails had burned off. "But why did it leave fire trails?"

"A lot of energy is expended in the reaction, and I assume it heats up the car to the point where--" He glanced at his watch on a sudden gut feeling. "Great Scott! Incoming! Sorry, Josie, you have to get down."

Josie hopped down as, with a triple sonic boom, the DeLorean reappeared. Doc used the brake control to slow it down and turn it until it was stopped only a few feet from them. To everyone's surprise, the car was now iced over. Marty cautiously touched the handle and yelped in pain. "Shit! That thing is _cold_! Ouch. . . ."

"The heat energy must have been used up in transit," Doc mused, opening the door with his foot. He picked up his watch and compared the times. "Yes! Look!" He showed them the 2 watches. The one that had been in the car was exactly 2 minutes slow. "The machine works! We're free!"

Everyone happily piled into a big group hug. "So, where to, Emmett?" Josephine inquired. "Or, more accurately, _when_ to?"

"I don't know. What's a time period you've always wanted to see?"

"Why don't we go to the 50s?" Marty suggested. "I'm curious to see my other self there."

"Marty, that could be rather dangerous," Doc warned. "Your other self had quite a mess to fix back in 1955. If we interfere, it could be disastrous to the space-time continuum!"

"I know it could be dangerous, but I really want to see him. He's a lucky bastard, even if he did have to date Mom. Come on, Doc. I want to see my parents before Biff screwed everything up for them."

"I'd like to see if I could find my mom and dad too," Jennifer added, giving Doc puppy dog eyes. "From before all this shit happened. I miss them a lot."

"We don't _have_ to stay in Hill Valley, Emmett," Josie reminded him. "We could move."

"We'd have no choice," Doc sighed, grinning. "You all seem to forget a younger me is _living_ in said past. But I do miss those good times back in 1955. They were what kept me going in Southdale before Josephine entered my life. But I don't want to do anything that would possibly destroy all I care about."

Both Marty and Jennifer tried to look persuasively cute. "Please, Doc?" they said in unison.

"Oh, go ahead. They won't stop pestering you otherwise."

Doc capitulated. "All right, all right. But we go to the last day other Marty was there. And there will be no talking to anyone or doing of anything that might interfere with what my younger self and other Marty will be doing. Also, no interaction with parents."

"That takes all the fun out of it," Jennifer pouted.

"You don't understand the risks."

"Neither do you," Jennifer pointed out. "You never actually used that machine other you built. And this one's brand new and it might not work a second time."

"Don't say that, Jen," Marty said, shivering.

"That may be true, but I did interact with a time traveler. That gives me greater experience in this area than any of you. Trust me, I know the consequences of messing with time. In fact, we all do. We're living in a world due to it."

Nobody could argue with that. Doc readied the DeLorean for her next trip, dumping in some cheap nuclear waste he'd stolen from one of Biff's factories. Even though, as a vampire, he didn't have to worry about radiation poisoning, he used gloves to load it anyway. He loaded the extra in a lead-lined case and their suitcases into the trunk, then ordered everyone into the car.

"Uh -- Doc? I don't think we're all gonna fit," Marty pointed out. "Why don't we go in shifts instead?"

"I don't want to take the chance of leaving any of you behind in this horrible place." Doc studied the car. "Edison can fit behind the seats. If we compress ourselves so we take up less space, we should all fit in the 2 front seats."

"That'll be an awful tight squeeze, Emmett," Josephine noted.

"Well, unless somebody thinks they can sit in the back with the dog. . . ."

"Maybe I can, Doc," Marty offered. "I'm kinda used to squeezing into tight places. The cupboard in the bar was the best place to hide." He climbed in and squished himself into the back. Kneeling with his knees pulled in tight and his arms by his sides, he just barely fit.

Jennifer frowned. "That doesn't look comfortable at all."

"Neither would having both of you wedged into the front seats with us," Josephine pointed out. "How is it, Marty?"

The teen squirmed out. "Uncomfortable, but I think I could stand it for a quick time hop."

"You sure?" Doc probed, not wanting his unofficial son to be in pain.

"Positive. I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

"All right then, if you're sure. Everyone in then."

Everyone smashed themselves in somehow. "Please tell me time travel is instantaneous," Jennifer begged, wedged onto Josephine's lap. The others nodded desperately, obviously jealous of Doc's unencumbered position.

"From what I observed, it is." He typed into the time circuits:

NOVEMBER 12, 1955, 6: 18 P. M.

"There. Now we don't run the risk of me falling asleep at the wheel." The passengers all gave him a look. "All right, everyone. Prepare yourselves for temporal displacement!" He turned on the car and hit the gas. All watched eagerly as the speedometer climbed. 55--65--66--75--77--85--88--

With a loud burst of temporal energy, the DeLorean vanished, never to be seen in Biff's world again.

Saturday, November 12th, 1955

Hill Valley

6: 38 P. M.

As Doc and company arrived in the past, the car suddenly shook violently; Distracted by being rudely shaken, no one noticed the ripple of flux energy running through their bodies. They had just double refluxed with another time machine, and were now in for the surprise of their lives.

Doc managed to stabilize the car. Jennifer looked around the group cautiously. "What the hell was that?"

Doc shrugged. "Temporal turbulence or something like that. We'll have to watch out for it if we ever time travel again." He stopped the car, checked the time circuits, then grinned. "But we made it! Welcome to the 50s, everyone!"

Jennifer and Marty gawked out the windows. What had been in 1986 a dirty and polluted place was now quite peaceful and pleasant. "Holy shit," Marty murmured. "Actual grass. Actual _green_ grass."

"The sky's -- oh, wow," Jennifer breathed, looking at the beginning of sunset. "That's beautiful. Simply gorgeous."

Josephine unrolled her window and took a deep breath. "Ahhh. . . . I'd forgotten what pure air smelled like. This place looks beautiful, Emmett. Even the cemetery."

"This is like paradise," Marty said happily.

"Oh, only 'like'," Doc said, pretending to be hurt. "We'll have to find a safe place to hide the car. I don't want to risk anyone stealing it."

"In this time?" Jennifer asked in surprise.

"It may be better than the Biff-ruled 80s, but not all was roses now. A few punks might be out looking for a joy ride." He drove slowly in a circle, thinking.

"Uh, Doc? My legs are beginning to cramp up," Marty admitted.

"Oh, sorry." He stopped and let his family out. "A-ha! I know of the perfect place. There's a cave over near the drive-in, and it's not too far from here. I'll go there and meet you - at the top of the clock tower. I don't arrive until 7: 55 tonight, so we'll be safe. But stay out of sight anyway, my memory has probably been damaged by electro-convulsive--" He closed his eyes, unable to go on. Even months later, those words gave him a chill.

"Don't worry, Emmett," Josie said, giving him a kiss and a hug. "We'll be careful." The two teens joined in, promising Doc they wouldn't do anything rash. "See you in a little while."

"Right," Doc nodded, having regained control of his emotions. "Have fun." He drove off. Josie and the teens took to the air. Marty and Jennifer were astonished by what they saw below. Hill Valley looked pristine. There were no chalk outlines of murder sites or empty beer bottles littering the streets. The houses were neat and clean. Kids seemed able to actually _play_ in their yards. "Holy shit," Marty repeated. "I can't believe Hill Valley was once like this."

"I know," Josephine said, admiring it. "I've missed this Hill Valley. Want to see the Town Square non-Biff?"

"Sure!" They made their way to the center of town. The Town Square was even nicer. The shops were open, selling things _other_ than sex and porno. People freely roamed the streets, without fear of being shot. There was a park in the middle of the square, with some old war tanks on it. And, best of all, the clock tower was untouched, complete with a working clock. The 3 vampires settled themselves on the roof and began to people-watch.

Doc joined them as a Packard convertible pulled into the square. Even from their position, they could hear everything as the 2 figures inside got out. "How's the suit, Marty?"

"It's okay. A little itchy around the collar."

Marty turned dead white. "Weird. Really damn weird," he said quietly, staring at Marty55 who was helping Doc unload their tools. "I don't look half-bad in a suit."

Doc shook his head. "My God. I can remember doing all that, but actually seeing it from a whole different perspective. . . ." He shook his head. "Simply amazing."

"Aww, you're cute at any age," Josie grinned, making Doc blush. "Look at that curly hair. You're adorable now, but you're adorable now too." She blinked. "Did that make sense?"

"To a time traveler, it did. Let's go before my younger self comes to the clock tower." They took off. "So, where to from here?" he asked as they flew around randomly.

"How about your house, Doc?" Jennifer suggested. "Nobody's there right now."

"Hmm, I do miss the old place. . . . But actually, I think we're closer to George McFly's home. Why don't we visit him first?"

Marty nodded enthusiastically. "Definitely! Boy, seeing Dad my age. . . . It's gonna be heavy." He zoomed off, barely waiting for Doc to show him the way. Laughing, the other 3 followed in his wake.

They got there shortly before George headed for the dance. Marty sat on the roof, waiting impatiently for a glimpse of his father. Even though Doc had made a wonderful replacement, the teen couldn't help but miss his real dad. "Come on, shake a leg," he mumbled.

Finally, the teen appeared on the doorstep, in a white suit. An older gray-haired woman followed him out, smiling. She kissed him on the cheek and straightened his collar. "Be careful, Georgie. And have fun tonight."

"I will Ma, I will," George said, smiling brightly. As soon as she had closed the door, his expression turned to one of terror. He walked out to the family car, shaking like a leaf. "Calvin, Marty, whatever your name is, I should have never let you talk me into this," he grumbled. "I'm gonna screw it up, I just know it. He's having some cheap laughs at me, I'm positive." His breathing became labored. "I'm not gonna be able to do it. . . ."

He approached the car, then paused, thinking. He walked up to it, threw open the door, and snapped, "Hey you, get your damn hands off her!" He paused again, then sighed and pushed back his cowlick. "This ain't gonna work," he said, getting in.

Marty's jaw hung open as he watched George pull away. "He's -- Dad's -- George is a _geek_! A geek, Doc!"

"I hate to break it to you, but until he punches out Biff, he's going to stay like that."

"But the dad I remember is cool and confident?! How the hell did he go from nerd to popular guy!"

"Simple. He beat the crap out of Tannen," Jennifer said. "But how did he get up the nerve to do it?" 

"It was actually thanks to other Marty," Doc admitted. "It was supposed to be that George would catch Marty -- er -- how do I say this--"

Jennifer made a face. "Like some of the bastards who groped me half-drunk?"

Marty had to lean back against the side of the upper story. "Jesus, my own mother. . . ."

"That's exactly how other Marty felt about it, as he told me. Of course, I didn't quite understand what you were saying at the time," Doc blushed.

"Emmett!" Josie exclaimed, surprised.

"No, not like that! I misunderstood some of the slang he was using to explain his nervousness. For example, he was worried he'd be gay when he got back, and I told him--" Doc swallowed and blushed deeper "--'Why shouldn't you be happy?'"

His family promptly cracked up. "Oh, that's priceless," Jennifer murmured, wiping her eyes.

"It's embarrassing," Doc snapped.

"But funny," Marty chuckled.

Josie, smiling, draped an arm around his shoulders. Before she could speak, though, Marty's grandmother's voice came up through the roof. "Arthur, did you hear all that snickering?"

The vampires looked at each other. _We'd best stick with mental communications from now on,_ Doc thought as they beat it out of there before anyone could see them. _We'll fly by my place, then what say we buzz Biff. Even if we can't take his almanac, we can at least give him a major fright. Soften him up a bit for George._ Marty, Jennifer and Josephine promptly agreed to this plan, and after a quick spin by Doc's former mansion (which everyone thought was wonderful), they headed over to Biff's.

Once again, their timing was impeccable. It was 7: 23, and Biff was just leaving for the dance, in a gray suit and dark shirt. _Well, he doesn't look too different,_ Marty mentally growled as they settled themselves on the roof of the garage.

An aged female voice yelled from inside, "Biff! Where are you going now?!"

Biff glared back at the house. "I told you Grandma, I'm going to the dance!" he yelled back. Grandma Tannen yelled some stuff back at him, which he ignored. Instead he headed for the garage the vampires were sitting on. Marty nearly went after him, but Doc held him back. _When he gets his car out. He just had the thing fixed, and if we can get him into a fender-bender, he'll go ballistic._

Biff emerged a moment later in his black Ford '46. Jennifer recognized the car immediately. _Hey, isn't that the same car the egotist has in his museum?_

_Never mind that, is that Gray's Sports Almanac on the dashboard?_ Josephine grinned, looking mischievous. 

_Never mind that, is that _me_ in the backseat?!_ Marty mentally gasped, spotting a figure in black huddled back there. A quick sniff confirmed it was Marty all right. The vampires looked at each other in confusion. How had Marty made it to Biff's garage _and _managed to change his clothes? And what was his purpose there in the first place?

They were further confounded a moment later, as the car drove away. A man on a bicycle rode up as Biff drove off rather carelessly. A man with a very familiar face and smell. Doc's eyes bulged he saw himself again -- only this time as a 64-year-old! Sure, his face looked younger than Doc's, and lacked a certain scar, but it was definitely a 1985/86 version of him. _What the hell is going on?_

Doc 2 rode up to the now open garage, a puzzled expression on his face. "Marty? Marty?" he called softly, glancing around. He coasted into the garage, and looked hard. "Maarr-tty?" he asked, stretching the name out. Receiving no reply, he turned and rapidly walked the bike back out. "Marty?? Marty!" He looked around once more in frustration, then snatched a dangling price tag off his hat. "Damn, where is that kid?!"

Marty looked at Doc as Doc 2 pedaled off. _You never told us a you from 1985 or something was here as well!_

_I didn't know about this other me either. There was only supposed to be one me and one you! No surplus!_

_Do you think we should follow them?_ Jennifer thought. _Cause I'm getting the feeling something is seriously wrong here with everything._

_Maybe we should. Jennifer and Josie, could you take the spare Marty? We'll follow this extraneous Doc._

_We're on it, Emmett. Where should we meet to regroup, or in case of emergency?_

_Hmm. The best place I can think of is the roof of the Hill Valley High gym. If anyone sees us up there, they'll just think we're custodians or people like that. Besides, who would be up there?_

_Okay. We'll see you later. Keep us posted on the other Doc._ Josie gave Doc a goodbye kiss, then the two girls took off in pursuit of Biff's car. The two guys launched themselves into the air and picked up Doc 2's trail. Something was wrong with the past, and they intended to find out what.


	12. Something's Not Right

Chapter 12

Saturday, November 12th

7: 49 P. M.

Doc and Marty followed Doc 2 as he pedaled into the Town Square. So far he had been oblivious to their presence, concentrating more on his destination. But as he pulled into the square, a walkie-talkie in his pocket sprang to life. "Doc! Doc!" Marty 2's voice said urgently.

Doc 2 stopped his bike abruptly and pulled it out. "Marty?" he asked urgently. Marty and Doc landed on top of some nearby shops and hid in the shadows. "Marty?"

There was no reply, just static. Doc 2 was about to say something else but suddenly noticed his surroundings. He looked around in amazement. "Oh. . . . Great Scott," he breathed. He slowly walked his bike toward the curb, observing everything. Seeing the covered DeLorean, he ducked, then peeked under the tarp at it. He straightened up and murmured something, obviously affected by what he had seen. "Jesus, this is weird," Marty mumbled. "Why do you think he acted like that?"

"This _is_ my past," Doc said, his eyes wide. "If I was in his place, it would be like going home again. It's simply shocking, to see all this."

As Doc 2 walked past the DeLorean, his walkie-talkie came back to life. "Doc! Come in Doc!"

Doc 2 pulled it back out of his pocket and struggled to get the bike back on the curb. "Marty, what happened to you?!" he demanded. "I went to Biff's house and you weren't there!"

Faint music spilled out of the device as Marty 2 replied. "You must have just missed me, I'm in the back of Biff's car. He's on his way to the Enchantment Under The Sea Dance."

Doc 2 shoved the bike aside in frustration and concentrated on his conversation. "Marty, we may have to abort this entire mission, it's getting much too dangerous!"

"At least that sounds familiar," Marty grinned, causing Doc to cuff him lightly.

"Don't worry, the book is on Biff's dashboard," Marty 2 replied, causing the vampires to look at each other in confusion. "I'll grab it as soon as we get to the dance."

The realization hit them like a bolt of lightning. _They're here to retrieve the Almanac!_ "This is heavy," Marty murmured, shocked.

Doc 2 seemed similarly worried. "Marty, you must be extremely careful not to run into your other self!"

"My other self?"

"Yes! Your mother is going to that exact same dance with you! Yeah!"

"Right! This could get heavy, Doc."

Doc 2 briefly pushed down his antenna. "Heavy, heavy," he muttered before returning his attention to Marty 2. Behind him, Doc and Marty could see Doc'55 working on setting up the wires to conduct the lightning energy. _Look, a pair o'Docs,_ Marty grinned, making Doc groan.

Doc 2 resumed his conversation. "Marty, you must not let your other self see you. The consequences could be disastrous!"

Suddenly, Doc'55 turned to Doc 2. "Excuse me sir!" he called. Doc 2 turned, then whipped back around and cut contact with Marty 2. "Yes, you with the hat."

"And the hypocrite of the year award goes to," Marty gently ribbed. Doc was too stunned by the scene to reply.

"Who, me?" Doc 2 said a bit gruffly, pulling his hat down a bit.

"Yes. Be a pal and hand me a 5/8 inch wrench out of that toolbox there."

"5/8?" Doc 2 repeated, sounding puzzled as he backed up to Doc'55. "Don't you mean 3/4?"

"Fascinating," Doc managed to say. "Two mes, separated by 30 years of age, interacting."

Doc'55 examined the bolt he wished to tighten. "Why, you're right," he said in surprise, stretching out the "why".

Doc 2 backed up to the opposite side of the pole as he retrieved the correct wrench. Doc and Marty watched closely. "I assume you're conducting some sort of weather experiment," Doc 2 said, handing over the wrench.

Doc'55 took the wrench with a puzzled look. "Yes. How did you know that?" he asked suspiciously.

Doc 2 stretched his hands along the line up to the clock tower, keeping his face away from Doc'55. "Oh, I happen to have had a little experience in this area."

Doc'55 looked up at the clear sky. "Yes, well I'm hoping for some lightning tonight, but the weatherman says there's not going to be any rain."

Doc 2 also looked up. "Oh, there's going to be plenty of rain tonight, wind, thunder, lightning. . . ." He allowed himself a brief glance at his younger counterpart. "It's going to be one hell of a storm."

Doc'55 innocently went back to his tightening. "Well, it was nice talking to you. Maybe we'll bump into each other some time again in the future."

Visibly shaken by his experience, Doc 2 walked back to his bicycle. "Or in the past," he added quietly, getting on and riding away. Doc'55 went back to the toolbox to get something else, took one last look at his departing counterpart, paused, then looked again. Then he just shrugged and set up his ladder.

Marty shook his head. "So all this time, you handed you the right wrench."

"No."

"Huh?"

Doc looked at Marty with frightened eyes. "I remember getting the wrong wrench. I never had that conversation. Trust me, Marty. My memories may have been affected by my years in Southdale, but I know I remember correctly now."

"But then -- how could -- It happened right before our eyes, Doc!"

"I know. But it didn't happen the first time." He frowned thoughtfully. "You know, Marty, I'm starting to form a new theory. Let's head to the roof of the gym."

Saturday, November 12th

8: 10 P. M.

Jennifer and Josephine arrived at the school, having found and followed Biff for the past 20 minutes. Jennifer stared at the very white building. "Wow. So kids actually got to go here before they fire-bombed in 1979."

"It certainly seems that way," Josephine said. "I wonder what Marty 2 was talking about with Doc 2 on the walkie-talkie. They seem to be on a mission of some sort. Come on, he's parking over there." They tailed Biff as he parked his car near the entrance to the dance. He started to walk in, leaving the Sports Almanac on the dashboard. Marty 2 popped up and made a grab for it, but had to duck back down as the bully returned for it. The girls blinked, then realized something.

Marty 2 was trying to get the Almanac _back_.

"This is too weird," Jennifer muttered as Marty 2 followed Biff inside. "He's doing exactly what _we_ wanted to do. It doesn't make sense."

"I know, but I think we should call the boys and see what they make of it. Then, maybe, we should check out what's happening inside." She activated her end of the link. "_Emmett?_"

_What's the report, Josie?_ Doc thought back. Both girls thought he sounded a little shaken.

_Doc, are you okay?_ Jennifer asked through Josie.

_Well, we just saw a very strange scene. My younger self and my other self just interacted._

_After Doc 2 told me 2 not to,_ Marty's "voice" cut in, a faint smile in it.

_Nice bit of rhyme scheme. It was extremely mind-bending, to see me hand myself a wrench while I watched the whole thing._

_Wonderfully confusing, dear. That's certainly a shocker, but we've got a worse one. We think Doc 2 and Marty 2 are trying to--_

_Get the almanac away from Biff, we know. It hit us too. The conversation between my 2 selves inspired me with a new theory. We're heading your way now, so get to the roof of the gym and I'll explain._

_Got it. See you in a bit, Emmett._ The girls flew up to the top. A minute later, the boys arrived, chatting about the clock tower. Josie welcomed Doc with open arms. "What are you two discussing?"

"Going back to see the clock tower struck by lightning. Marty really wants to see it. Would you?"

"Sure, sounds cool," Jennifer nodded.

"All right then. I think we can find a secluded spot to watch. I missed it myself the first time around."

Josie sat down. "This is all so confusing. I'm finding it hard to understand anything anymore."

"I know, but I have a new theory. It's a crazy idea, but it might explain things for us."

"So share," Jennifer said as they all sat.

"All right. You all remember my paradox theory, right? That in 2015, the whole universe goes kaput?" Everyone nodded. "Well, I had an idea while we were tracking Doc 2. What if the space-time continuum has some sort of self-preservation 'instinct'?"

"Huh?"

"What if it always tries to keep things the same as the former time-line, or close enough to? For example, Marty55 drastically changed George's personality and his father's relationship to his mother. What was the chances of them having the exact same kids at the exact same times?"

"One in a billion, I suspect," Josie said.

"Exactly. _Yet, it happened._ Dave, Linda, and Marty were all born right on schedule. No, wait, that's an over-generalization. I don't know if Dave and Linda were born the same, but Marty was, and that's still beating the odds in a big way. Something about how the space-time continuum works ensured that their biological aspects were kept intact. I imagine that, in how things were supposed to go, more things may have stayed the same according to the unaltered time-line."

"But what the hell does this have to do with us?" Marty wondered.

"This is where the crazy part comes in. What if, to preserve itself, the space-time continuum ditched us?" Everyone looked at him, bewildered. "I mean -- damn, where's my blackboard when I need it? Hopefully this will do." He picked up a rock and scratched 2 lines into the cement. "In order to prevent a truly catastrophic paradox, it split in two. We became a whole separate _reality_, with a similar past, but an entirely different present and future. That way, when our time-line has collapsed on itself, the other time-line wouldn't be affected. And somehow, when we time traveled, we managed to skip from our reality to a different one."

"I sorta get it," Josephine said. "But there's just one problem. How could we skip realities?"

"That's my only glitch. I don't know. I don't even know if there _are_ separate realities from our own, or if that is how they form." He sighed, frustrated. "I wish I could discuss this with someone who was more knowledgeable about these subjects than I am."

"Any other ideas, Doc?" Marty asked, completely lost.

"One, although it doesn't make much sense either. This all happened as we see now, but the other you and me didn't succeed. And my younger self never figured out it was his older self who handed him the right wrench."

"That one's depressing," Jennifer said.

"I know. And what makes it worse is that we would have to _let_ it happen to exist!" Doc put his chin in his hands. "It doesn't concur with my memories of this time, though, which is odd."

"Are you _sure_?" Marty asked. "Positive?"

"Yes, positive. This did not happen in my memories." He sighed loudly. "It's a mystery."

Jennifer noticed a cream-colored car pulling up to the school. It looked somewhat familiar. "Hey, isn't that your Packard, Doc?"

Doc looked. "Great Scott, it is. That must be Marty'55 and Lorraine." He squinted. "Poor kid, he looks terrified."

Marty leaned over the edge to get a closer look - then noticed directly below them Biff Tannen, with a girly magazine in his hand. He was standing on the steps, obviously enjoying himself. Right underneath him was Marty 2, slowly inching up to him. _Hey, guys, look at this! Marty 2 is right under us!_

Everyone peered over just in time to see Marty's 2 hand brush Biff's pocket. He seemed on the verge of grabbing the Almanac. Then, suddenly, a new voice behind Biff said, "Well well well, Mr. Tannen." The vampires looked to see a severe-looking, balding man in a bow tie standing there, frowning. "How nice to see you."

"Why, Mr. Strickland," Biff replied, turning to face the man, keeping his girlie magazine behind his back. "It's nice to see you too, sir."

Mr. Strickland regarded his prey. "Is that liquor I smell, Tannen?"

Biff tried to look innocent. "I wouldn't know, sir. I don't know what liquor smells like 'cause I'm too young to drink it."

_Liar,_ Doc thought, sniffing out his booze breath.

"I see," Mr. Strickland said. "And what have we--" his hand darted behind Tannen and snatched away his girlie magazine. "-- here?" He flipped through it idly. "Sports statistics, very interesting subject. Homework, Tannen?"

"No, it ain't homework, 'cause I ain't at home," Biff sassed, chuckling a little at his lame joke.

Strickland gave him a shove and started wagging the Almanac in his face. "You'd just better watch it Tannen, because one day I'll have you right where I want you -- in detention! Slacker!" With a final wag, he turned and walked off. Biff glared at his departing back, then straightened his jacket and stalked off, presumably to find his gang. To Marty's surprise, Marty 2 followed _Strickland_. _What the hell is my other self doing?!_

_Remember Strickland's comment about sports statistics? I think Biff slipped the Almanac cover over the girlie magazine,_ Doc thought back. _It seems you -- Great Scott! Marty 2 is going to have to walk right by Marty'55's car!_

_What?! Oh, this is heavy._

Fortunately, as he neared the car, Marty 2 had enough sense to duck down below window level. Thanks to vampire senses, the group could hear exactly what transpired. "Jesus, you smoke too?" Marty'55 said, sounding completely shocked.

There was a sight. "Marty, you're beginning to sound just like my mother," a girl's voice said. Marty blinked in astonishment. That didn't sound anything like the Lorraine he knew!

"Yeah right," Marty'55 replied.

"When I have kids, I'm going to let them do anything they want. Anything at all," Lorraine continued, oblivious to Marty'55's discomfort.

"I'd like to have that in writing," Marty'55 muttered. 

"Yeah, me too," agreed Marty 2, slipping away. 

"Trust me, guys, it's not worth it," Marty answered both of them.

Jennifer sighed as she spotted the bullies telling Biff where Marty was. "Well, he knows where he's going. Where the hell are we going?"

"I see no harm in staying up here for a little while. We'll get to witness George's greatest triumph. And if we're lucky, we'll catch a few songs before the dance ends. Nothing says we can't have a little fun. After that -- I suppose leave Hill Valley and start somewhere fresh."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Josie agreed, watching the action with interest. "Imagine, being able to see history in the making."

"Fascinating, isn't it?" Doc leaned closer as the people in the Packard became more animated. Just for fun, he switched on his mind-reading ability and started reading Marty'55's thoughts. _Keep it cool, McFly. She's only -- oh, shit, sleeveless. Okay, don't panic. It's only your mom. _Only my mom_. . . . Stop looking at me so eagerly. I -- HOLY SHIT! OFF, OFF! Holy shit, she just kissed me! That has to qualify as one of the worst experiences of my life. . . . What? Really?? Hallelujah! Damn embarrassing, but who cares! She didn't like kissing me, thank you God. And here's Dad. Jesus, George, where were -- you're not George._

Jennifer shut her eyes as Biff let himself into the car. "Damn, that's all too familiar," she whispered painfully. Josie put a comforting arm around her shoulders. After a moment, Marty did too, hoping her man-hating instincts wouldn't cause her to deck him. Happily, she didn't.

Doc suddenly heard George yelling rather hysterically, "Somebody get me out of here!", accompanied by some loud banging noises. His eyes grew wild with panic -- had George gotten trapped somewhere? If so, would he not come to deliver the knockout punch Marty had mentioned? Or was it not at the car that George had hit Biff? He had just naturally assumed it was there, due to Marty's former plan. He slumped against the concrete, with a very bad headache. It was times like these he wished he had been at the scene and not simply a earpiece for Marty's retellings.

Someone seemed to take pity on George. "Hang on a sec, McFly, I'll get you out," a nerdy kid's voice said. 

"Oh, thanks a lot, Lester!" A door was opened, and George took off.

"Hey, George, what's the rush? Somebody take your wallet?"

"It's important, Lester! I'll tell you later!" About a minute later, the teen appeared on the scene, skidding to a stop on the pavement. Biff and Lorraine were struggling violently in the car by this point. Taking a deep breath, George walked up and threw open the door. "Hey you, get your damn hands off--"

His voice died as he saw it was Biff in the car, not Marty. The bully glowered at him from the folds of Lorraine's dress. "I think you got the wrong car, McFly."

Lorraine's head popped up, fearful and afraid. "George -- help me -- please," she begged before being shoved back down by Biff.

"Just turn around and walk away," Biff instructed George. But the teen didn't budge. "Are you deaf, McFly? I said close the door and beat it!"

"Please George," Lorraine whimpered in fear.

George still didn't budge. "No, Biff," he said, quietly but firmly. "You leave her alone."

Biff's eyes narrowed. "All right, McFly," he snarled, pushing Lorraine back and getting you. "You're asking for it. And now you're gonna get it."

George took a swing at Biff's head with his right. The larger teen simply caught the punch and started twisting George's arm behind his back. George gasped in pain, his entire body tense. Lorraine, watching in shock, protested, "Biff, stop it! Biff, you'll break his arm!"

"I think that's the point, Lorraine," Josie muttered, watching the scene in disgust. "That poor kid."

"Damn brave, though," Marty replied, his memories of his father vindicated. "Come on, George, slam one right into his jaw!"

Lorraine couldn't sit by anymore. "Biff!" she snapped, getting on him and trying to beat on him. "Leave him alone! Let him go! Let him go!"

Biff just shoved her to the ground as she protested. She and George shared a brief look, then George's gaze turned to Biff. The bully was _laughing_ at Lorraine. He was enjoying this fully. Even though his face wasn't visible to the vampires, they could tell exactly what was going on in George's mind. He was getting seriously pissed. Slowly his left hand formed a fist and pulled back.

Biff got the feeling something was wrong right before George twisted out of his grip and punched him solidly in the jaw. Biff spun around from the force, hit the car, then crumpled to the ground.

"Yes!" Marty yelled, only to hear it echoed. He looked down to see Marty 2 behind a car, smiling at the scene. A few moments later, Marty'55 appeared, looking stunned but impressed. Marty 2 stepped out a bit, looking at his double. "Talk about deja-vu."

_You don't know the half of it,_ Marty thought in agreement.

Jennifer was giggling happily as George and Lorraine walked off arm in arm. "Did you hear his thoughts? All _I did it I did it I did it did you see me do it?_ It was really cute."

"Way to go, Dad," Marty smiled.

A crowd had gathered around the fallen Biff by this point. Marty 2 pushed his way through it. "Okay, everybody let's back up, let's back up, let's everybody just back up. Give him a little bit of room, a little bit of air," he told everyone. "It's okay, I know CPR." He knelt down next to Biff and a nerdy-looking kid. "I know CPR," he repeated to the kid.

"What's CPR?" the kid asked. Doc recognized the voice as that of George's friend Lester.

At the same time, Biff slowly came to. His eyes focused on Marty 2. "You!" he yelled. Then there was the sound of flesh hitting flesh, and Biff was presumably out cold again. Marty grinned widely, knowing what sort of "CPR" his other self must have administered.

Marty 2 pulled something out of Biff's waistband and got up. "It's fine," he said, standing up and jogging off. Lester stood up too, watching him go with a suspicious look. "Hey, did you just take his wallet? He just took that guy's wallet!" he yelled. Nobody paid any attention to him, too busy staring at the vanquished Biff.

"Took his wallet?" Josie repeated in confusion. "Why would any version of Marty take someone's wallet?"

"Unless it wasn't Biff's _wallet,_" Doc said knowingly. "I believe Marty 2 has gotten his hands on the Sports Almanac."

Jennifer looked a little worried. "Uh, Doc, what happens if Biff doesn't get it back?"

Doc stared at her. "Is this still Jennifer? The girl that detests all men, above all Biff?"

"Yeah, but I don't give a shit what happens to _him._ He can crash into a manure truck for all I care. I was wondering what would happen to _us_? Cause if it's all the same, we're history, but if it's different, we're okay, right?"

Doc knew he had to swallow his pride. It would mean weeks of teasing, but it had to be said. "What?" he asked.

The others had the decency to hold in their laughter until Jennifer clarified his question. "Do you think we're going to fade out or not? Cause you seem a little -- he he -- confused--" she started laughing hysterically, the others following suit.

Doc gave them all his "killer death ray" glare before replying. "I don't know. And frankly, I don't care. We're out of that world, and I don't want to hear a single word more about that F***ING ALMANAC!"

There was dead silence following that outburst. Doc rarely ever swore like that, so when he did, you knew he was seriously pissed. The other vampires moved away, a little nervous. They knew Doc's temper, after all. The scientist noticed this and tried to cool down. "I'm sorry. But it's true. I'm sick of harping on and on about the point. We're free, and we shouldn't be concentrating on this any more." He heard noises come from the gym. "Well, it sounds like they're setting up for another song." He smiled at Josie as the first notes were played. "May I have this dance?"

Josephine smiled, holding out her hand. "But of course." Doc pulled her into his arms, and they began to slow dance.

Marty looked at Jennifer and shrugged. For some reason, he felt shy. "Do you want to dance, Jen?"

"Why not?" They awkwardly began copying the moves of Doc and Josie.

They were only able to enjoy the song and their dance for a few minutes. Right in the middle of one of the choruses, the guitar player seemed to completely lose his talent. Doc frowned, irritated. "What in the name of Sir Issac H. Newton is going on down there?" he grumbled, climbing down the wall and peeking through one of the thin windows near the door. To his surprise, the guitar player was _Marty'55!_ He was slumped against the piano, his fingers useless. He certainly didn't look good. "I can't play!" he gasped at the piano player.

"Who is it, Doc?" Marty asked, joining him. Doc simply pointed. "Holy shit! What's wrong with him?"

"My hypothesis would be him," Doc whispered back, spotting Lorraine dancing with a red-haired boy. 'Dancing' was a term to be used loosely; Lorraine was struggling against him with all her might, obviously trying to get back to George. "George!" she yelled. A few feet away, George was acting very helpless, simply turning his back on her.

"Doc!" Marty nearly yelled suddenly. Doc turned to scold him, but then caught sight of what his 'son' had seen. It was enough to make his blood run cold.

_Marty55 was looking _through_ his own hand._

"He's being erased from existence," Doc gasped as Marty'55's body gave a small spasm of pain.

"Doesn't look like fun," Marty whispered back, shuddering.

"George!" Lorraine yelled again as the red-haired kid laughed. George kept his back turned.

"George," Marty55 croaked, his body slowly beginning to fade out.

_Get your ass over there, George!_ both Doc and Marty thought, glaring at the teen.

Whether it was Lorraine, Marty'55, or even them urging him on, George got his nerve back. He walked up to the couple with a determined look on his face. "Excuse me," he snapped, roughly shoving the red-head to the floor. Then he took Lorraine's face in his hands, gazed into her eyes, then leaned down and kissed her.

Marty'55 popped up, apparently completely cured. They weren't allowed to see if all was well, though, because Marty 2 chose just that moment to appear, on the run from Biff's gang. The vampires darted back up onto the roof as the alternate teen ran into the dance. Josie snorted, looking even more annoyed now. "Ok, what's the deal? He sounds fine now."

"It's Marty'55 playing," Doc said, relieved. "He was being erased from existence, but George finally got the nerve to kiss Lorraine." He paused. "Those may not be the right words for the situation, but the important thing is that Marty'55 is all right." Doc shook his head. "He never told me he played at the dance. It would explain why he was late to the tower."

"Excuse me for saying this, Doc, but we really have to leave the Almanac alone if we're gonna be erased from existence," Marty said. "It looks really painful." He looked down at the concrete roof. "What do you think Marty 2's gonna do?"

"I think he'll have the sense to stay out of sight. He's been through this all one before. He'll be fine, I know it."

Below them, Marty'55 started playing guitar again, this time some rock and roll. "Hey, this is Johnny B. Goode!" Marty exclaimed. "One of my favorites!" He happily began swinging Jennifer around.

Doc tried to do the same with Josie, but she wouldn't let him. "Emmett, I see a potential problem here -- oh, geez, you're starting to rub off on me!" she laughed. She quickly turned serious again. "I remember that Chuck Berry wrote Johnny B. Goode in 1959."

"Yes, but that's not really our problem. Besides, it's only a school dance, who's going to remember?" Doc began dancing with his girlfriend, getting in some very swinging moves. Josie decided he had a point and began enjoying herself as well.

Marty laughed as Doc spun Josie around. "I didn't know you could dance, Doc!"

"I grew up in a rich family in the 30s! Learning how to dance was a given!" Doc said, lifting Josie off her feet.

"Yeah, but swing?"

Doc smiled. "What can I say, I pick up things fast."

They kept dancing until Marty55 began to degenerate into clearly 80s styles like Jimmy Hendrix. As they caught their breath, Doc heard a new noise, a soft whining. He looked up at the sky and gasped loudly. Puzzled, everyone looked at him. "Doc? What's the problem?" Jennifer asked, panting, as they all looked up. A moment later she didn't need to ask.

There was a DeLorean heading toward the roof. A _flying _DeLorean.


	13. An Important Mission

Chapter 13

Saturday, November 12th

9: 35 P. M.

The vampires could do no more than stare for a moment, the impossibility of the situation numbing their brains. Then they came to their senses and started looking for a place to hide. Unfortunately the roof was very flat, with few projections. In desperation, the vampires started lowering themselves down the side of the building. _Holy shit, a flying DeLorean!_ Marty thought to Doc as it lowered itself. _Just like Biff told us he saw!_

_I know! Now I regret not examining his memories further. But we have no time for idle speculation. Come on, before he sees us._ Doc disappeared over the edge of the gym. Marty was about to follow when --

"Marty! I thought I told you to buy some inconspicuous clothes!"

Marty spun to see Doc 2 looking at him with a disapproving expression. "What happened to all that 50s money I gave you? If you didn't know the meaning of the word, you should have asked me."

Marty's mouth opened and closed a few times as he tried to think of something to say to this other Doc. Doc 2 sighed. "I suppose it's not important, as long as no one recognized you. Do you have the book?"

"Uh -- I--"

Doc 2 looked frantic. "Marty, you didn't lose it, did you? The entire space-time continuum depends on getting that almanac away from Biff!" He took Marty by the shoulders firmly -- then frowned at Marty's shell-shocked expression. "Marty? Are you all right? I know you've had a very rough day -- days, to be accurate -- and I'm sorry for pushing you so hard, but this is the most important thing you will ever do. Now, where's the almanac?"

Marty was saved from answering by the appearance of Marty 2, climbing up the ladder to the roof. He stumbled on, holding his stomach in pain. "Doc! Biff nailed me, and -- the hell?"

Doc 2's head swivelled between Marty and Marty 2 so fast Marty half expected it to fall off. "Great Scott!"

Marty looked at his other self. By some strange coincidence, they were dressed quite similarly, with blue jeans and red t-shirts. This Marty, however, also wore Nike sneakers and a leather jacket. Just out of curiosity, Marty looked at his twin's face.

That proved to be a very big mistake. His mind locked up the minute he looked into his other self's eyes. He just couldn't comprehend seeing himself and knowing he wasn't looking into a mirror. After a few moments of stunned amazement, the world began to grow hazy and dark.

"Marty! Marty, don't faint on me now!"

Doc 2's voice managed to snap him back to life. He saw Doc 2 holding a dizzy-looking Marty 2 by the shoulders, giving him a few shakes. "You have to stay awake! The entire space-time continuum depends on it!"

Marty 2 looked over at Marty, who was staring stupidly. "Where -- where did -- me -- come from?"

Doc 2 looked at Marty 2 as well. "How _did_ you get here? I somehow doubt you're from the future. Otherwise you would have realized the importance of this date and left it alone."

Marty shrugged. "Doc, this is going to sound completely unbelievable, but I'm not from your future _or_ past. Me and my family--"

"Family?! George, Lorraine, and your siblings?!"

"No," a voice suddenly said behind them. "He means me."

Marty turned to see Doc standing behind him, a serious yet amazed expression on his face. "Hello."

Doc 2 gasped, turning the color of perfectly cooked cod. "Great Scott," he mumbled, shaking his head. "This is incredible! What are you doing here? This is a very dangerous date to come to, you should know that! You're me!"

"I never would have come had Marty not insisted," Doc admitted. "But I have no memory of you handing our younger self the correct wrench. Where are you from? And how does your DeLorean fly?"

"What do you mean, where are we from? Hill Valley," Marty 2 said, getting over his shock. "Christ, this is weird. I mean, before, when I saw me in the car, that was heavy enough, but now--"

"Quiet for a moment, Marty. I want to talk to my other self." Doc 2 walked forward, his eyes traveling slowly up and down Doc's body. "How old are you?"

"64. You?"

"The same." He cautiously touched Doc's chest. "Where did you come from? Someplace other than Hill Valley?"

"No, we're from the hell that has become Hill Valley. That's the whole reason we're here. We had to escape."

"Hill Valley a hell?" Marty 2 said in surprise. "Hill Valley's a nice place to live, when Biff's not -- Holy SHIT, you're from that world??"

"You've been there?" Marty said.

"They must have, that's the flying DeLorean Biff saw," Doc pointed out gently, pointing to the car. "You come from a world where Biff doesn't run everything?"

"That's the whole reason _we're_ back here -- to stop that place from ever coming into existence." Doc 2's eyes went wide. "The almanac! Marty, did you retrieve it?" he asked, shifting the subject so fast both Marty's had to blink.

"Doc, that's what I meant to tell you! I got nailed by my younger self, Biff grabbed the almanac and kicked me a few times, then took off in his car."

"Damn! And we've lost precious minutes in tracking him! Which way did he go?!"

"East, towards the River Road Tunnel," Marty 2 reported, pointing.

"We've got to catch up to him! Hell, we might have to time travel to make up the time we lost!" He looked back at Doc and Marty. "I'm sorry, but we have a mission to complete. Much as I would love to stay and discuss your situation, we have go. Marty, get in the car."

"Wait a minute!" Marty protested, suddenly frightened. "If you get the almanac, we're gonna be erased from existence! I'm rather fond of being around!"

Doc 2 paused as he got into his DeLorean. "I'm not sure what to say to you," he admitted sadly. "I'm afraid I would like my existence to continue as well. And the only way I can accomplish that goal is retrieving the almanac."

"Wait a moment," Doc said firmly, grabbing his counterpart's shirt. "I hate that place as much as you do, but I don't want to be wiped out. There has to be an acceptable compromise."

"We're wasting time! Every minute you delay us is a minute more that Biff has that almanac! We can't run the risk of him using it, even once!" Sarcastically, he added, "Unless that's your idea of a compromise."

"No! In fact, I wanted to take that almanac away from Biff too, until I realized the damage it would do to the time-line. Our version of it, anyway," he frowned.

"Please, I have a universe to save," Doc 2 insisted, pulling his shirt free. "Your time-line would cause a life-ending paradox."

"Don't you think I know that? I want to prevent Biff from creating that horrific world, but not at the cost of our lives!"

Marty 2 looked at them. "Doc, I know what it's like to be erased from existence. Can't we do anything for them?" he asked.

"Marty, what would it look like if another set of us showed up in our 1985?"

"We'll move!" Marty yelled, desperate. "I'll do anything just to stay alive! I've done it before!"

Doc 2 frowned. "We did get you into this mess," he admitted quietly. "But I can't let Biff have the almanac." He thought hard. "Tell you what. Let Marty and myself retrieve the almanac from Biff, then we'll meet you -- behind the Lyons Estates billboard. Then we'll try to come to a mutually acceptable compromise."

"Sounds all right to me," Doc said, although he remained a little suspicious. "But you had better be there. I suspect I have a worse temper than you do."

"No doubt. Don't worry, I never go back on my word. Besides, why would I wish erasure from existence on _myself_? I just hope we can work everything out."

"Myself as well, there's four lives at stake in this."

"_Four_?? No, never mind, tell me later. Marty, set the time circuits for today at 9: 30 P. M. We'll leave before we arrive."

Marty 2 frowned at the display. "Hey, Doc, it's acting up again."

"Hmm? Oh, damn!" Doc 2 hit the circuits a few times with his hand. "I thought I had that fixed!" He hit it one last time, then seemed satisfied. "Try it now."

Marty 2 typed in the information and smiled. "A-ok, Doc."

"Right. We'll see you in the future!"

"Or maybe in the past," Marty wisecracked. Doc 2 smiled and nodded as he shut his door and made the car fly again. The vampires watched as the DeLorean zoomed off, then disappeared. "Well, _that_ was really weird," Marty mumbled, still a little stunned from encountering his other self.

"I know. I never thought we'd get to interact with our counterparts from the good reality. I only hope that my other self makes good on his promise to compromise with us."

"He seems to be as worried about the space-time continuum as you are," Josie said, returning to the roof. "I suppose that's a good thing, but still--"

"I wonder what was up with his time machine," Jennifer asked, wiping off her hands. 

"I looked in while he was hitting it. Looked like some sort of error, as the destination time was January 1st, 1885."

"That's one heckva error." Marty looked nervous. "You think he'll listen to us?"

"You forget we can _make_ him listen," Doc grinned wickedly. "But I think he'll listen to me at least. We are intellectual equals. And I suspect that your counterpart is sympathetic towards us, which is good." He checked his watch. "Great Scott, we're going to be late for the lightning! Post-haste to the Town Square!"

They reached the clock tower at the same time as Marty'55. The vampires quickly found a shop with an easily-picked lock and ducked inside to watch the show. "You're late! Do you have no concept of time!" Doc'55 yelled at Marty'55 as they uncovered the DeLorean.

"Hey, I had to change! Do you think I'm going back in that -- that zoot suit!?" Marty'55 protested as they finished up. "My old man really came through; it worked! He laid out Biff with one punch!" Marty'55 handed his picture to Doc'55, very pleased. "I never knew he had it in him; he's never stood up to Biff in his life!"

Doc'55 stared at the picture as Marty'55 said those last words. "Never?" he repeated, sounding vaguely uneasy.

"What's he mean?" Jennifer whispered.

"Marty'55 told me that once that his father was a complete wimp in the 80s, and the rest of his family wasn't much better. When he told that to me, I immediately realized he had changed the future. It was too late to do anything, though, and it turned out he had changed it for the better. Up to a point," he amended.

Doc'55 waved off Marty'55's question of "No, why, what's the matter?" and set about explaining the set-up. "Let's set your destination time!" He climbed into the front seat of the car. "This is the exact time you left! Let's send you back at exactly the same time!" Doc'55 typed a date and time into the keypad and entered it into the time circuits. "It'll be like you never left!" He jumped out of the car and ran a little distance away. "Now, I've painted a white line _waaay _over there--" he waved down the street "--that's where you start from! I've calculated the precise distance, taking into account the acceleration speed and wind resistance retroactive from the moment the lightning strikes -- which will be in exactly--" he checked his watch and set a clock he held. "Seven minutes and 22 seconds! When this alarm goes off, you hit the gas!"

"Right! I got it!" Marty'55 nodded. Doc'55 wound the alarm and set it on the dashboard.

"Well," he said, emerging from the car, "I guess that's everything."

Marty'55 looked very pensive. "Thanks," he said quietly.

"Thank you!" Doc'55 responded enthusiastically.

Suddenly, Marty'55 pulled Doc'55 into a hug. Doc'55 froze for a moment, then slowly put his own arms around Marty'55. "In about 30 years?" he asked.

"I hope so!" _If you're even alive, Doc. Shit, this could be the last time I see my best friend. . . . Keep it cool, McFly._

Doc'55 misconstrued his tone as nervousness over time traveling. He pulled back from Marty'55 with a reassuring expression. "Don't worry!" He went over and indicated the set-up. "As long as you hit the wire with the connecting hook at precisely 88 miles per hour, the instant the lightning strikes the tower--" He paused, trying to come up with the appropriate ending. "Everything will be fine," he finally shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Right," Marty'55 said, hopping into the DeLorean.

Doc'55, however, had a puzzled expression on his face. He pulled his hand from his pocket, revealing a letter. Marty'55 sighed and shook his head. _Jesus, why did he have to find it now? He's gonna flip._

Doc'55 read the envelope, then stuck it in Marty's face. "What's the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"You'll find out in 30 years!" Marty'55 yelled back.

"Is that _the_ letter?" Marty asked Doc as Doc'55 went ballistic. "The one you keep in the glove compartment to keep it safe."

"Yes, it's that letter." He winced as he watched himself rip it up, yelling, "I refuse to accept the responsibility!"

Marty'55 spun him around, looking upset. "In that case, I'll tell ya straight out!" he insisted. Doc'55 covered his ears.

A moment later, covering his ears was no longer necessary. Both were distracted by a tree branch breaking off and falling onto the all-important wire, pulling the plug dangling from the top of the clock tower free. "Great Scott!" Doc'55 yelled, horrified. He stuck the pieces of the letter in his pocket and ran forward to survey the damage. Seeing it was only the plug, he dashed back to his car and retrieved a coil of rope. "You get the cable, I'll throw the rope down to you!" he told Marty'55.

"Right! I got it!" Marty'55 yelled back, running after Doc'55. The scientist disappeared into the Courthouse while Marty'55 grabbed the fallen wire. Jennifer squealed as she hear Doc'55 running up the steps inside. "This is so exciting!"

"Like the climax of a block-busting movie," Josie agreed, eyes fixed on the scene.

"You wouldn't think so if you'd been involved," Doc said, remembering how exhausted he'd been after sending Marty back.

Doc'55 reappeared at the top of the tower, obviously shaky. He was briefly frightened by the visage of one of the gargoyles guarding the clock, but quickly came to his senses. "Doc!" Marty'55 yelled up to him, and was answered by the rope dropping to the steps. Marty'55 grabbed it and started tying.

"Come on, come on!" Doc'55 yelled impatiently, already towing in the rope.

Marty'55 finished his tying job. "All right! Take it up!" he yelled up. "Go," he added in a softer voice as Doc'55 reeled the cable in.

Doc'55 had the end of the cable in his hands in a matter of seconds. Marty'55 looked up at him with a terrified expression. "Doc!" he screamed, hands around his mouth to amplify the sound.

Doc'55 paused and squinted down at him. "Huh?"

"I have to tell you about the future!"

"What?"

"I HAVE TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE FUTURE!" Doc'55 made a little noise of protest, but strangely leaned down to listen. "On the night I got back in time, you get--"

The word "shot" was completely drowned out by the clock's bell going off. Doc'55 nearly fell off the ledge from the noise, but was thankfully able to pull himself back up thanks to the gargoyle. The vampires all winced and held their ears. "Damn enhanced hearing," Marty growled.

Doc'55 looked in at the bell, then waved Marty'55 off while holding his ear with the other hand. "Go!"

"No Doc!" Marty'55 yelled. _I don't want to go back if you won't be there for me!_

"Look at the time!" Doc'55 yelled, pointing to the clock and completely oblivious to Marty's inner struggles. "You've got less than four minutes! Please, Marty!"

Marty'55 hesitated an instant longer. Then he ran to the car, slid across the hood, and got in. He drove down the street, then turned around and headed for the starting line. Marty laughed as he watched Doc'55. "Did you just blow me a _kiss_?"

"I suppose I did," Doc said, still amazed at what he had heard in Marty'55's mind. "I don't believe it. He didn't want to go back."

"He didn't want to go back to paradise?" Jennifer asked incredulously.

"No. Because I wouldn't be there. He still believes I'm going to die at the hands of Libyan nationalists. I knew he probably thought of me as a father figure, but refusing to return to your own time?"

"Maybe, if your 'parallel dimensions' theory is true, you two are always close. Like a constant in all worlds."

"I highly doubt that. I suspect that if there are parallel dimensions, there's at least one where Marty and I are bitter enemies."

"Glad we're not in that one," Marty said, leaning against Doc.

Doc'55 slowly inched along the ledge, holding the cable tightly. His eyes remained glued to the steps roughly 50 feet below, where the rope and a small piece of the ledge he had chipped off lay. Doc shivered as he watched his younger self, remembering how scared he had been. Climbing all over clock towers wasn't a good thing to do at any age.

His younger self finally reached the clock itself. He stood up slowly and cautiously, eyes still staring at the steps. He forced himself to look up at the socket cable, dangling just out of reach on the other side. Doc'55 positioned himself in front of the clock, stretching himself out. Concentrating fiercely, he made a grab for the cable -- and missed.

Then the ledge under his feet gave way.

Marty, Jennifer, and Josie all shrieked as Doc'55 fell. Only his quick thinking saved him as he grabbed hold of the clock's minute hand. The plug cable caught onto his pants leg by some lucky accident. "Holy shit," Marty whispered, squeezing Doc's hand very tightly.

Doc nodded, squeezing back. "That had to be the scariest moment of my life. My entire life flashed before my eyes in the instant before I grabbed hold of the clock. Even what I imagined my future life to be. I was certain I was going to die and destroy the universe."

"Talk about a load to bear," Jennifer said.

"Indeed. All I had learned about the future and time travel actually started to drive me insane after all this was over. I eventually had to take a vacation to clear my head."

On the clock tower, Doc'55 paused for a moment as the clock clicked to 10: 02. Had he just heard someone shriek as he fell? _I must be imagining things,_ he thought and dismissed it. He focused his mind on getting that socket cable and getting back up onto the ledge. He made a grab for it, but only succeeded in knocking it away. A second attempt yielded a similar result. He waited a moment and carefully gauged the length of the swing. The third time it came close to him, he reached out and snatched it, transferring his weight from the clock to the cord. _Third time's the charm._

Now he needed to retrieve the plug cable from his pants leg. Hanging on tight with one hand, he reached down with the other. Only to hear cloth rip. He gasped as he saw the plug literally hanging by a thread. If he didn't grab hold of it soon, all would be lost. He held his breath and brought the leg closer to his outstretched hand. The plug ripped off more.

He managed to snatch it. With a groan of relief, he pressed it to his chest, his rapidly-beating heart slowing down a fraction. The vampires also breathed a sigh of relief, totally caught up in the drama. "Emmett, you're truly a hero," Josie whispered.

"I wouldn't go that far," Doc blushed.

"Why not. You're risking life and limb for your best friend. I'd call that heroic."

"Yeah, Doc, you're definitely a hero," Jennifer agreed, Marty nodding along. Doc just blushed harder.

Doc'55 pulled himself back up onto the ledge and stood his spreadeagled before the clock face. Breathing a sigh of relief, he pulled the two cables together.

Or he tried to. For some reason, the plug cable was too short to reach the socket cable. Eyes wide, the scientist looked down to see that the plug cable was caught in the tree branch. Frustrated, he tried to make the cables meet anyway.

After a minute of this, he started yanking. Then, at the end of his rope, he gave the plug cable the hardest pull he could. The cable went slack -- but only because the other end had become unplugged. Thinking that it had come free just a little too easy, Doc'55 looked down and saw what had happened. He yelled in desperation. How could things get any worse?!

Marty looked to Doc. "My other self _did_ get back to his own time, right?"

"Be patient."

The headlights of the DeLorean appeared at the end of the street. Doc'55 looked up at the lightning flashing overhead, then at the headlights, which were getting closer. A determined look replaced his despaired one, and he connected the cables. As the DeLorean got closer and closer, starting to throw sparks from its tires, he looped the cables over the hands of the clock. Then he took a breath and _slid down_ the cable to the ground. He landed with a thump on his back, but quickly recovered and wrested the caught cable from the tree branch.

Marty'55 could see what was happening too by this point. "Doc," he said, knowing there was only seconds left until the lightning hit.

Doc'55 towed the cable over to the lamp post. Marty'55 shut his eyes and hoped for the best. The vampires waited with bated breath.

The clock clicked to 10: 04 P. M. The most spectacular bolt of lightning any of them had ever seen struck the tower, sending sparks flying! Electricity zipped through the cables, reaching the lamp post just as Doc'55 connected the wires, jolting the scientist off his feet. The DeLorean hit the wire at precisely the right second and vanished in a flash of brilliant light. Doc'55 sat up and watched as fire trails appeared, heading straight for the theater. For a moment, there was an ethereal crashing noise. Then the electricity cracked through the cables a final time, and all was still.

Doc'55 stumbled to his feet, staring at the scene. The cables and lamp posts were now aflame, and small firey bits occasionally fell to the ground. He glanced up at the now still clock face, then stumbled down the street, following the fire trails. He gawked for a moment, stunned. Then -- "YAAAA-HAAA!" he yelled joyously, doing a little dance. Doc blushed as his three companions snickered at Doc'55's joy. "It felt like the thing to do at the time," he offered lamely.

Doc'55, with a huge smile, cast one last look at the clock, then headed to his car. He pulled out his ladder and a fire extinguisher and set to work taking the set-up down. "Well, that's that," Doc said. He smiled at his friends. "Impressed?"

"Very. That was incredible," Josie said.

"Way cool, Doc," Marty grinned. 

"Too bad we couldn't hitch a ride," Jennifer cracked.

"Well, maybe we can hitch a ride on the next one. Come on." They snuck out of the back of the store and took to the sky.

"Do you really think they'll show up?" Marty wondered.

"I don't know. If they don't, our only chance is to track them down. And since they have their own time machine, that would be a tricky process. I certainly hope my other self _is_ true to his word."

"I don't think he'll dump us," Josie said, frowning as they flew right into the rainstorm. "After all, he _is_ you."

They landed behind the billboard, soaking wet from their flight. So far, there was no sign of the flying DeLorean. They huddled together and spread their wings to try and form an umbrella. "They'd better show up soon," Jennifer grumbled, shivering.

They waited for five minutes as patiently as they could. Then for another five minutes. Doc frowned, feeling his temper rise. "Two more minutes, then we start looking."

"Emmett, maybe they're having trouble getting the Almanac," Josie said, although her tone said her patience was wearing thin. 

"That's no reason we should have to wait in the -- what's that noise?"

The others listened carefully. "Doc, it sounds like a car!" Marty said.

"Finally!" Doc stepped out to greet it. "I've been waiting out here in the rain for--"

He stopped as he got a better look at the car. Instead of the DeLorean he had been expecting, it was a dark 50's sedan, with a menacing air. A suspicious-looking man in a hat and trench coat emerged from it, with a severe frown. "Dr. Brown?"

"Yes?" Doc asked cautiously.

Trench Coat opened his umbrella and started walking forward. "I've got something for you," he growled, reaching under his coat.. Doc prepared for defensive measures. Trench Coat stopped by the fender and pulled out --

An envelope. "A letter."

Doc was thrown completely off balance by this sudden turn of events. "A letter? Intended to convey greetings and all that?" Trench Coat nodded. "Then who are you?"

"Western Union," Trench Coat explained, coming closer. Now that Doc's first impression had been dispelled, he didn't look too menacing. Rather ordinary, really. "We're a little puzzled by all this ourselves, Dr. Brown. Think you could shed some light on the situation?"

"I -- no, this makes as little sense to me as it does to you. I certainly wasn't expecting a letter."

"Well, you see the envelope was first given to us 70 years ago, with specific instructions to deliver it to you at this exact location, on this exact date, and at this exact minute." Trench Coat produced a clipboard and pen. "Sign on Line Six, please."

Doc did so and accepted the yellowed envelope. "70 years," he repeated incredulously. "That would mean this letter was received by your company in 1885."

"Yup -- September 1885 I believe." Trench Coat smiled. "You know, the boys down at the officer had a bet going on whether you'd show up today or not. Looks like I lost."

Doc broke the seal and pulled out the letter itself, ducking under Trench Coat's umbrella to read them. To his shock, he recognized his own handwriting! He flipped to the third page and confirmed that it was, indeed, his other self who had written the letter. _What the heck is he doing in the Old West?_ He went back to the first page and skimmed its contents.

A moment later, he gasped. "Great Scott!"

"What is it?" Trench Coat asked, nosily.

"A matter of the utmost importance. It deals with an ancestor on my mother's side, very eccentric. Thank you for bringing it to my attention." He absently patted the man on the shoulder and moved away.

Trench Coat nodded, looking a little disappointed. "Just doing my job, Dr. Brown." He headed back to his sedan as Doc darted back behind the billboard.

"Was that a bunch of hooey about the relative?" Jennifer asked, confused.

"Of course! My _other self_ wrote this letter from -- September 12th, 1885."

"What the hell are they doing in 1885?" Marty demanded.

"They're stuck, actually. Here, let me read the letter to you." He began:

_Dear Dr. Brown, Marty, and their company,_

_With any luck, the post office will be reliable for once and you will receive this letter and be prepared. First of all, let me assure you I did not intend for this to happen. The circumstances were against us. Just as we were preparing to time travel, the time circuits began malfunctioning again. A frustrated Marty decided to try and kick them to get them working again. I truly believe this approach may have yielded positive results if he had been allowed to get more than one kick in. As it was, he was only able to scramble the month before we traveled through time. Shortly thereafter, we arrived on August 1st, 1885._

_Before you ask, we are alive and well, but our DeLorean is not. I made the mistake of landing it before I found a suitable hiding place. The rough terrain ripped the fuel line, leaving us with a non-operable time machine. Later, when we came to collect the car, we found a bear had partially mauled it. Using it as a horse-driven carriage didn't help matters. _

_With Marty's help and a little ingenuity, I managed to repair the time circuits -- enough to take us home, where I can do proper repairs. However, we have no way to get up to the necessary 88 miles per hour. I managed to patch the fuel line, but by then we had already lost our gasoline. We tried a few different avenues of transportation, but all our efforts brought about was the fuel injection manifold being disconnected from the car. So, for all intents and purposes, we are stranded._

_On a more positive note, I have met a lovely woman named Clara Clayton. Marty and myself inadvertently rescued her from falling into the ravine which was supposed to bear her name. We fell in love at first sight (Marty gets enjoyment teasing me about it). I don't know if any of your company was female, but I would certainly like to compare our tastes in girlfriends._

_Marty's telling me I'm starting to ramble along in this letter, so I'll get to the point. Now that you know our situation, I have to ask you for two favors:_

_1. GET THE ALMANAC. This is vitally important. The longer Biff has it, the worst life gets for all of us. You already know this, I'm sure. You must take it from him before he uses it. Do whatever is necessary to retrieve it._

_2. Please come to September 13th, 1885, in your time vehicle. Marty is anxious to go home to his family and girlfriend. I feel regretful for taking him on this trip now, as he is now missing a month from his life. I too wish to return to 1985, as it is my home time. I enjoy living out here in the open air with Clara, but I can't help but miss the modern amenities my time offers. Clara too is interested in them, as she will be accompanying us to the future. I feel that bringing her to the present is a less dangerous course of action than leaving her in a past in which she no longer belongs. We'll discuss your unique position before we leave, I promise._

_So, I bid you good luck and godspeed. Take care of yourselves. We await your arrival._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Dr. Emmett Lathrop Brown -- ELB_

_P. S. Just like Doc to forget to tell you where we're living. I had a nasty fight with Biff's ancestor Buford Tannen, so we had to move out of the Town Square -- it's a long story -- so we're currently crowded into Clara's cabin. She's the local schoolteacher until we go home. It's about seven miles from the Town Square, near Clay Shonash Ravine. _

_ Marty McFly the First_

Doc carefully folded up the letter. "So, it's up to us to finish what they started."

"You mean--?" Marty said.

Doc nodded solemnly. "You three got your wish. We must retrieve the almanac."


	14. Back to 1885

Chapter 14

Saturday, November 12th

11: 45 P. M.

It didn't take the vampires long to fly back to Biff's house. Unfortunately, it didn't take the rain long to follow them. They were soaked to the bone by the time they landed in the backyard, and getting wetter. "Jesus," Marty muttered, folding his wings around him to conserve warmth. "Is this really worth it?"

"It _is_ dangerous to take the thing that made our existence possible from the man who did the same," Josie agreed. "Couldn't you just have your other self hallucinate the almanac? Not that taking it away from Biff wouldn't feel divine, but how safe is it for us?"

"There's a built-in safety he told us about. We'd have roughly a week before we'd fade out, and with our own time machine we could prolong the effect. As for hypnotizing my other self, I have no idea how Doc 2 would be affected by my trance." He smiled impishly. "Are these the same people who were so eager to wrench this book from Biff's possession before?"

"It's the rain," Josie rationalized, smiling back. "It's affecting all of our moods. Of course we'd love ripping that book away from Biff."

"If we can do it inside," Jennifer qualified, shivering like crazy.

"I can take care of that in a jiffy." Josie quickly located a nearby window and wrenched it open. "All right, everyone in."

"Thanks Josie," Marty said happily, climbing inside. "What's the plan for getting the Almanac?"

"Well, the way I see it, there's two places that should be monitored -- Biff's grandmother's bedroom and the outside door," Doc said. "And of course one of us has to find Biff's room. Anyone want to volunteer before I claim it for myself?"

"I want to do it," Marty said firmly. His link to Doc clearly told the older man he wasn't going to back down on this. 

"Fine. What about Biff's grandmother?"

"I'll take that one," Josie said. "I've got more experience with the gentler sex."

"I would hope so. Then I'll monitor whatever's going on outside. If either of you need my help in any way, though, don't hesitate to call."

"Can do."

"Where does that leave me?" Jennifer asked.

"I'm giving you a mission of the utmost importance, Jennifer. Something we will all thank you for later. I need you to find four spare towels and a water-proof bag. I don't want to get into the DeLorean soaking wet. Besides being highly uncomfortable, there's the matter that there's quite a lot of electrical equipment set up within dripping distance."

Jennifer managed to suppress some giggles. "Sure thing, Doc."

"All right then. We'll convene as soon as one of us gives the signal to do so." They split up, Doc heading to the front door while Josie, Jennifer, and Marty disappeared into different sections of the house.

Marty found Biff's room within minutes, due to the teen's loud snoring. The bully was half on the bed, half off, still dressed in his dance clothes. A fresh bottle of booze trickled its contents onto the rug. Clothes and magazines were tossed everywhere, forming small mountains in random spots. Marty noted most of the magazines made up a years subscription to _Oh-La-La._

He tip-toed around the room, searching diligently for his quarry. He peeked behind all the pictures of "tough guys" Biff had decorated the walls of his room with, searching for a hidden safe or something along those lines. There were a few pictures of Lorraine Baines around too, but Marty couldn't make himself touch those. He searched through the drawers on Biff's desk and even the piles of trash. But his search yielded nothing.

Frowning, Marty looked around a third time and scratched his head. _Think, McFly. If you were Biff -- now _that's _a scary thought -- where would you put a book that you thought was important?_

A light bulb came on in his head. Very cautiously, he made his way over to Biff again, who was still completely out of it. Yup -- the almanac was foolishly tucked into his waistband! With the most extreme care he could manage, Marty reached over and pulled it free.

Its removal, however, managed to awaken Biff. Groggily he looked up to see Marty hovering over him, the almanac clutched in his hand. "You again?!" he slurred, starting to his feet. "You're gonna be really sorry this time, punk!"

Marty gave him a calm smile. Then the smile grew fangs as he vamped out. Biff obligingly gave a girlish scream and passed out again. Marty made sure what he had grabbed was the almanac and dashed back to the living room. 

Not a moment too soon, either, as Josie cried out mentally, _The grandmother is up! Everyone, we've got to get out of here!_

The vampire family instantly reunited in the living room. "I've got the book," Marty announced proudly, holding it up.

"And I've got the towels," Jennifer said, clutching a plastic bag.

"Wonderful! Now let's get out of here and make haste to September 13th, 1885!" Doc led them out of the window and to the cave where he had stored the DeLorean. He loaded up the car with fuel as the other three toweled off. "Just think -- we're standing in the place where another DeLorean may have sat 70 years earlier. How fascinating is time travel."

"Yeah, I know," Josie said, sounding nervous. Puzzled, Doc reached in through their link to sense her thoughts. _That other him is in love with another woman. What if my Emmett meets this "Clara" and immediately falls head over heels in love with her? I know love at first sight exists. How else could I have fallen in love with him? I don't want to lose my soul mate. I know I'm tough on him sometimes, we've had our fights. Would he want someone more -- proper? Gentle? Am I not the love of his life? But we've always seemed so happy together. I love him more than anything. I don't want to lose him._

_Josie?_

Josephine started. _Emmett? God, I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I didn't even feel you. Did you hear all that?_

_Yes, I did. I promise you I won't fall head over heels for this Clara. You have to remember, that other me is different from _me_. Our histories differ drastically. For him, the right woman may very well be a Clara. But for me, you're my one and only. Forever and ever._

_Do you mean that, Emmett? Truly?_

Doc approached her and kissed her tenderly, summoning up the memories of how happy he was with her and sending them along. Josie smiled, comforting. _I know I'm being silly, but I care so much for you. Fate brought us together, but fate also brought them together. Just think, Emmett, if things had been different. . . ._

_But things _aren't_ different. It was our fate to be together. It's quite possible there's different "fates" for each version of everyone in each different universe. My other self's fate may very well be this "Clara." But all I know is that you're my fate, and I don't care what his is. Meine Liebe, I will never leave you._

Jennifer smiled at the sappy scene, having overheard all through her end of the connection. "I wish someone would love me like that."

Marty put his arm around her shyly. "I best someone will someday. In the meantime, you've got me."

"Thanks. You're great for a guy." Marty blushed.

Doc kissed Josie again, then became business-like again. "All right, everyone in. Careful when you get in, Marty. Edison's sleeping back there."

"Gotcha Doc." They all piled in. Doc set the time circuits for:

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13TH, 1885, 7: 05 P. M.

Then he carefully drove out of the cave and started accelerating. It took him longer than it had before, but they finally reached the magic number 88 miles per hour.

Sunday, September 13th, 1885

Hill Valley

7: 05 P. M.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The DeLorean appeared, bumping over the rough landscape. Edison barked loudly as he was jolted awake from his nap. "Sorry boy," Doc apologized. "I didn't realize how rough the terrain was. I need to fix the suspension on this later."

"I'll help," Josie promised, being knocked around.

Jennifer blinked at the desert landscape. "Boy, Hill Valley looks _really_ different now."

"If I remember correctly, this is 30 years after it's initial founding," Doc told her. "Once we get to the town, you'll be even more surprised. It's only a tiny frontier town at the moment." He cautiously wove his way around some rocks. "Now, where did Marty 2 say they were staying?"

"Somewhere near Shonash Ravine," Marty recalled. "Seven miles out of the square or something like that."

"Hmm. We can probably fly there easily, but where do we store the DeLorean? Certainly not out in the open."

"And not in a cave. That's how your other selves got into this mess," Josie said. "Maybe we should take it with us."

"Although we're probably capable of carrying the car, I don't think so," Doc replied as the kids shook their head empathetically. "Damn, I need a map of the area."

Josie snapped her fingers. "Wait a minute, Emmett, the Delgado mine! Is anyone working there?"

"Josie, that's brilliant! We'll see in a moment." He drove to the location of the mine. Even at this early stage it looked deserted. The vampires exited the car and did a through examination of all the tunnels and shafts. All were empty. It didn't look like a regular human had been here in at least a year. "Perfect! As I said before, Josie, brilliant." She smiled and blushed faintly.

"Yeah, I think we're safe," Marty agreed as Doc maneuvered the DeLorean inside. "I checked out the veins of stuff -- they're all empty."

A weak growl came from Doc's stomach, which promptly began to ache as long-atrophied muscles were used. The mention of "veins" made his mouth begin to water, as he realized they hadn't eaten in a while. His nose immediately began searching out possible sources of blood. _Damn, why did I forget to bring a supply of blood?_

_Rather silly of you,_ Josie thought back, earning her a look from Doc. _Rather silly of all of us. We of all people should know we need to eat regularly._

_Don't get into an argument, guys,_ Jennifer thought firmly, her eyes glowing. _I get irritable when I'm hungry._

Marty sniffed the air, turning in a circle. _I smell something nearby. Sort of sweaty and earthy. You guys smell it too?_

Everyone inhaled deeply, trying to identify the scent. Doc was the first to get it. _That's a horse olfactory property. And I don't think they're too far away._

They tracked the alluring aroma to a nearby camp of cowboys, Edison following along behind. Four horse stood by the packs, grazing. The group, all fully vamped, approached the cowboys first, anticipating a great meal.

Then one of them turned over on his side, and instantly they all knew what had been the dinner menu. "Pee-u!"

"Disgusting!" Josie held her nose tightly. She lapsed into her old tongue of Latin, muttering, "Absolutely disgusting. There's no way I can feed from them."

"What say we try the horses," Doc said, using his shirt as a gas mask. He pulled up a patch of weeds and cautiously approached one of the horses. "Here, horse."

The horse, a stallion, whickered and reached for the weeds. Doc drew them back. "Come on, horse, follow me." The stallion did just that, trying unsuccessfully to chomp down on the weeds. The others copied Doc's example and managed to lure the horses to a safe distance away.

Doc allowed his horse to have the weeds once they were on safe ground. As the stallion occupied itself with chewing, he plunged his fangs into the muscular neck. The horse gave a small started whinny, but then went right back to eating.

Josie grinned. _Certainly looks easy enough._ She did the same with her mare and carefully bit down. The mare whinnied, then reacted how it would with a mosquito -- the horse began shaking its head. The vampire had to hold its head still by force to get a proper drink. _You're a lucky bastard, Emmett._

_Thank you for reminding me._

Jennifer examined her horse while she ate, walking around her. Then she made a grab for the throat. The horse neighed loudly and reared, throwing Jennifer to the ground. Josie abandoned her own meal to help her. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, just a little banged up." She vaulted onto the horse and bit again. The gelding tried to throw her, but she hung on for dear life.

Marty was having the toughest time of the four. Whenever he got within reaching distance of the mare, she'd shy and trot away. He chased her for a full five minutes before he got sick of the pursuit. He decided to try a different tactic. Very slowly and silently he approached her from the rear, getting within swatting distance of her tail.

Abruptly Doc felt very dizzy, and at the same time a sulphurous scent hit his nostrils, making him want to gag. He released the stallion and looked in Marty's direction. The scent was lingering in the air, but the dizziness had most likely come from their link. The poor kid was passed out on the ground, completely out of it. In front of him, the mare calmly grazed.

Doc approached cautiously and as quickly as possible yanked Marty out of the "danger zone." The sudden movement caused Marty to stir, but didn't wake him. Doc shook him. "Marty!"

Marty came to with a groan. "Ugh. Is it all clear? Can I breathe again?"

"The cloud is still hovering," Doc said, wrinkling his nose, "but you're safe. What happened?"

"The stupid mare farted right in my face!"

Doc had to suppress a wild burst of laughter at that statement. Marty glared at him. "It's not funny, Doc."

_Yes it is,_ Doc thought back, not trusting his voice.

_No it isn't! Not when you're the one it happens to! I was hoping to sneak up on her so I could just get my meal, and -- poof! The gas hits me right in the nose. Wouldn't you faint?_

_Trust me, Marty, I nearly did. It's just the way you phrased it. Here, I'll hold her still for you. I'd let you drink from my horse, but its death could have a negative impact on the space-time continuum._

_Forget the lecture! I'm starving here!_ He made a leap at the horse, which reared. Doc calmed it down and helped Marty grab hold with his fangs. Once he was sucking away happily, the mare seemed to calm, thankfully for the teen.

They left four weakened horses back at the camp and started the flight to the cabin. Their path took them directly over the Town Square. Everyone looked around the now-tiny town and tried to guess where the landmarks they knew of would be placed. "Hey, look," Marty said, pointing out a horse corral. "Honest Joe Statler's Horses. Think we just found the car dealership."

Jennifer dipped a bit lower as they passed over the coroner's. "Nope, he's clean."

"What?" Marty wondered.

"I caught a glimpse of the guy. He looked dead, so I wondered if he might be a vampire. He just looks dead."

"Most probably an ancestor of the coroner I sometimes visit," Doc nodded, remembering Larry and his mummified face.

Josie gave the town a look-over. "I like Hill Valley in this time. Small but efficient."

"I think we'd all like Hill Valley in any year besides 1986," Jennifer cracked.

"Amen to that," Marty agreed.

Doc nodded, then smiled at the structure they were rapidly approaching. "Ah, the clock tower. This is amazing, seeing it in its first stage of development." He circled it slowly, admiring it.

"How do you know it's new?" Marty asked.

"The Old West has always been a favorite time of mine to study. The clock itself was dedicated September 5th -- I wonder if our other selves got to see that event in our town's history." Without waiting for an answer, he gave it one last look and flew on, Edison tucked securely under his arm.

Roughly 15 minutes later, Jennifer caught sight of a small cabin in the distance. "You think that's the place?"

Doc squinted his eyes. "I wouldn't bet my life on it, but I think so." They redoubled their efforts at flight. "Yes, there's three horses grazing outside. I believe this is the place."

They landed as softly as possible outside the door. Doc glanced at his compatriots, then knocked a few times. A moment later, the door opened, and a woman stepped out. The scientist examined her. The woman looked to be about 30 or so in age, with long curly brown hair and brown eyes. She was dressed in a simple blue gown with ruffs on the sleeves and skirt, and her hair was done up. Doc had to admit to himself, _She is a little attractive, but she is definitely no Josephine._

The woman looked at him with a badly-confused expression, then turned back inside. "Emmett?" she called, her voice ever so slightly nasal. "Emmett, are you in there?"

Doc couldn't help but start a bit as his own voice replied. "Yes, of course Clara. Why?"

"Because--" she glanced back at the group "--you're at the door too."

"What?" Doc 2 appeared at her side. He blinked as he beheld himself, then remembered why they were here. "Oh, Clara, these are the people I sent the letter to yesterday. Granted, I expected them to arrive earlier in the day. . . ."

"It's a long story," Doc said. "I take it the woman by your side is Clara Clayton."

"Of course," Doc 2 replied, giving her a tender and loving glance. She smiled right back, clearly regarding him as her knight in shining armor. "My girlfriend." He directed his attention to Josephine, who was obviously a little disturbed by the scene. "Who is this?"

Doc put his arm around her proudly. _Trust me Josie, she's nothing compared to you._ "This is _my_ girlfriend. Josephine Grey."

"Pleasure to meet the both of you," Josie said politely. "Although I have to admit, this is rather awkward."

Doc 2 cocked his head, studying her. "It is strange," he confessed. Doc was amused to find the same thoughts he'd had about Clara going through his counterpart's head about Josie. "It's a discussion best left to another time, however. Have you got the book?"

Marty pulled it free from his waistband. "Excellent!" Doc 2 said enthusiastically, reaching for it.

Marty tucked it away again before he could grab it. "Talk first, book later." Noticing Clara's disapproving frown, he added, "Hey, it's a matter of life and death for us. I won't lose it or anything like that."

"It just seemed rude," Clara confessed. "Speaking of which, we're being rude right now. Come in. Would you like anything to eat? I have a cake in the oven."

"We've already eaten, but thanks anyway," Doc said. "And you'll have to excuse any lack of manners we have."

"There wasn't much use for them back where we lived," Josie expanded as they came inside. Clara frowned, obviously not liking that statement. "It's a fact of life in the 1980s. Our 1980s anyway. I'd get used to it if you plan to go to the future with your Emmett."

"It will certainly be different," she admitted.

Doc set Edison down on the floor, as the puppy was beginning to squirm. He immediately began running around the living room they had entered. He sniffed each piece of wooden furniture, examined the fire burning in the fireplace, then ran over to Doc 2. He scented him and began whimpering and whining in confusion. "Your dog?" Doc 2 asked as the group settled themselves.

"Einstein's puppy," Doc said quietly, feeling a pang for his dead companion. "His name is Edison."

"He's adorable," Clara said with a warm smile. She reached down to pet him. Edison gave a soft warning growl and backed away.

"He doesn't like strangers," Doc explained, whistling the dog back to his side. "Especially under these circumstances."

A new figure appeared from another room of the house, carrying a bright pink board under one arm. "Hey Doc, I heard -- _JENNIFER_??"

Startled, Jennifer turned to face Marty 2. He was staring at her like she was some sort of heaven-sent vision. "Is it really you, Jen?" he whispered.

"How do you know my name?" Jennifer asked, completely thrown.

"These are the other versions of ourselves," Doc 2 explained to Marty 2. "The ones we met before the accident. Apparently Jennifer was one of their company."

"Oh." Marty 2 looked crestfallen, but only for a moment. "It's nice to see you again anyway. Even if you're not my Jennifer."

"But how do you know who I am?" Jennifer persisted.

"Back in our 1985, Jennifer Parker is Marty's girlfriend," Doc 2 answered for the teen. Jennifer's and Marty's jaws dropped in shock. _Well, that explains a lot,_ they both thought, each recalling their recent feelings for the other. "That is _weird_," Marty managed to say.

Doc 2 shook his head in agreement. "It is interesting, to compare and contrast our lives." He sat down in a chair, directly across from Doc on the couch. "Speaking of which, do you have any pressing questions you would like to get out of the way?"

"What is Biff Tannen in your version of 1985?" Doc immediately asked, his face darkening.

Marty 2 smiled. "An auto detailer who sucks up to George McFly."

The vampires all found this hilarious. "Oh, that would be wonderful," Marty choked out. "Tell _him_ what to do for a change."

"How the hell did you live with that jerk for a father?" Marty 2 asked, making a face. Clara frowned at the use of the language but didn't say anything.

"You don't really _live_," Marty told him, thinking this was so strange to be talking to himself. "He basically did everything he could to keep me out of his life." He shivered at the memories. "I finally had enough and ran away."

"How did you find Emmett?" Clara asked.

"According to my sources, you were committed in 1983 in that world," Doc 2 added.

"I escaped," Doc said vaguely, not sure if it would be wise to tell them straight-out about their vampire natures just yet. "Marty came to my house completely by coincidence. I still remembered him from 1955 and of course offered to shelter him. He accepted, and over time we became close." Marty leaned against him to empathize the point.

"How about Josephine and Jennifer?" 

"I was transferred to the mental hospital my Emmett was in by my sister, and it was love at first sight, just like with you and Clara," Josie said. "I actually was the one who helped Emmett escape from the asylum. We lost track of each other through a misunderstanding, and while we were separated I met Jennifer."

"No prizes for guessing what I was doing," Jennifer blushed. Josie patted her hand.

"I helped her get away from her -- boss. So when Emmett and I got back together, Jennifer came along."

Marty 2 shook his head, disturbed. "Jesus, I feel so guilty. I'm the reason you guys even exist. I should have never bought that damn almanac! This is all my friggin fault!"

"Marty, I think I can assume blame for some part of what happened," Doc 2 said, disturbed as well. "I should have made you return the almanac rather than left it sitting idly on the trash. And I certainly could have made better choices concerning our Jennifer. It's my fault she went through that trauma. I'll apologize as soon as possible when we get back."

"What did you do to other me?" Jennifer asked suspiciously.

"She was getting too curious about the future, so I knocked her out with my alpha-rhythm generator. I also left her unattended for a time. I thought that it would be too dangerous to take her with me, but hindsight is 20/20."

Jennifer made a note to ask her Doc what an "alpha-rhythm generator" was later. "Sounds like you owe other me and Marty."

"Just other you," Marty 2 corrected. "I got us into this whole mess by acting like a -- a Tannen! If anything, _I_ owe _Doc_."

"I'd say helping Clara and me is sufficient payment for any debt, real or imaginary," Doc 2 assured him. "What say we're even and get to the main discussion?"

Marty 2 thought a moment. "You're the doc, Doc," he shrugged. "I still feel guilty though."

"Well, Marty, you have the chance to make amends for your mistake." Doc 2 suddenly frowned and looked at Doc. "I suppose we'll have to figure out some sort of identification system for the pair of us. It's getting confusing, the both of us calling each other 'Doc' and 'Marty.'"

"We've been calling you Doc 2 and Marty 2," Doc revealed.

"Yes, but to our eyes, _you _are Doc 2 and Marty 2," Doc 2 said. "One of us could be called 'Emmett.'"

"That would only cause worse problems," Josephine shook her head. "That's what Clara and I call our respective versions of you."

"Doc B and Marty B?" Marty 2 suggested.

"For some reason, I don't think we should," Doc said. "What if one of us was 'Dr. Brown' and his Marty 'Martin?'"

Doc 2 and the Martys gave it a moment of thought. "That'll work for the time being," Doc 2 nodded. "Do you mind if you're 'Dr. Brown' and 'Martin?'"

"Okay with me," Marty shrugged. He glanced at the board still tucked under Marty 2's arm. "What the heck is the pink thing?"

"This? My hoverboard," Marty 2 said proudly. "I got it in 2015." He dropped it on the floor to demonstrate how it floated. Marty goggled, amazed. "I borrowed it off a little girl, but when I went to give it back, she'd found a better one. Doc lets me go out in the backyard if no one's there."

Marty cautiously picked the board up. "You think you could teach me how to ride it? I know how to skateboard a little."

Marty 2 appeared ill at ease at the request. "I'll think about it," he said, taking it back. _Christ, this is freaky. Some other version of me wants me to teach him to skateboard. This fourth-dimensional stuff takes some getting used to._

"Sorry," Marty said. "Just that me and Doc-tor Brown were watching you and Doc for a while back in 1955. I'm more used to seeing another me."

Marty 2 shrugged. "It's okay. Maybe I'll show you later in the back room of the shop."

"Shop?"

"Emmett runs a blacksmith shop," Clara spoke up. "Marty helps him."

"It was a front to repair the DeLorean at first," Doc 2 explained. "Since then, however, I've become quite proficient at shoeing horses and other pursuits. So has Marty."

"Sounds like you've had an interesting life," Doc said, intrigued. 

"Much better than yours, I'm sure. Which brings us to our main discussion. How do we prevent Biff's come to power without endangering your lives?"

"I have a theory," Doc tentatively offered. He detailed his "parallel universes" hypothesis to his counterpart. "Do you think it could be the answer?"

"It does make sense," Doc 2 nodded. "We've seen something similar occur with the ripple effect. It's not out of the question to suppose that a time-line can split in some sort of meta-time to preserve itself. One question, though -- how could you get to our ever-changing time-line?"

"_That's_ our problem. Somehow our DeLorean skipped in both time _and _dimensional space. And we have no idea how it happened."

"Emmett, maybe it could just happen," Josie suggested. "After all, they showed up in our reality."

"Yes, but my theory would allow for a sort of doubling between time-lines. The 1986 that we came from existed in their time-line too. I find it hard to believe that they would be lucky enough to get back to their original reality in one try."

"Yeah, the chances would be one in a million," Marty agreed. "They'd just keep skipping from reality to reality." He noticed Marty 2's surprised look. "What? I live with him."

"We still could have gotten here by chance," Josie argued. "That doesn't negate what I said." 

"Good point, Miss Grey," Doc 2 agreed. "Tell me, did anything seem unusual when you time-traveled to this world?"

"Now that you mention it, we did encounter some temporal turbulence."

Doc 2 looked puzzled. "Temporal what?" he asked, causing Marty 2 to hold in a burst of laughter.

"Turbulence. You know what that is, right?" Doc 2 continued to look confused. "Right?" he repeated.

"No," Doc confessed, making Marty 2's smile even more tight-lipped. "Are you saying the DeLorean shook as it passed through time?" Nods. "It's not supposed to do that. Anything else?"

Jennifer spoke up. "I thought I saw something when we were shaking. It looked like some sort of ripple was going through the car."

Doc 2, Marty 2, and Clara all looked at each other. "Emmett, what do you think it means?" Clara wondered.

"Their car's not broken, is it Doc?" Marty 2 asked fearfully, swallowing his laughter. "We can still use it to get home, right?"

"I don't know," Doc 2 confessed. "The dimensional leap, if there was one, could have been caused by a mechanical problem within the car or an external factor. I'd have to look at their DeLorean."

"It's hidden in the Delgado mine," Doc revealed.

"You walked the entire way here?" Clara said, startled.

"Not exactly. . . ."

Doc 2 yawned behind his hand. "We can go examine it in the morning. We'd best get a good night's sleep in preparation. We have a spare room for guests, with a double bed, if any of you would care to take advantage of it."

"Thank you," Josie said, with a final nervous look at Clara. "I'm sure we can manage."

"All right then. We'll convene her in the morning." Doc 2 rose from his chair, then sniffed the air. "Is something burning?"

"Oh no, my cake!" Clara dashed to the kitchen, followed closely by Doc 2 and Marty 2.

Doc looked at Josie, who was shifting uneasily in her seat. _Clara's really bothering you, isn't she?_

_Not _her_ so much as the fact I'm seeing you with another woman. I never thought you could fall for someone else._

_Josie, I swear to you, I have no feelings for Clara. I love you with all my heart. Just keep reminding yourself, Doc 2 isn't _me. He stood up. "Let's make use of that spare bedroom," he said aloud for Doc 2's benefit.

_We're going to sleep now?_ Jennifer thought in surprise.

_If we need to be awake in sunlight, we had better get our sleep in now. Besides, I'm exhausted from all this stress. It'll be nice to sleep in a bed for once._

_Amen to that,_ Marty nodded. _And hopefully tomorrow we can find out once and for all what happened to us._


	15. The Truth Comes Out

Chapter 15

Monday, September 14th, 1885

Hill Valley

1: 27 A. M.

Josie awoke from fitful dreams. _Ugh. Why can't I get those thoughts about Clara out of my mind? Emmett loves _me_, not her. I just wish I could convince myself of that._ She squirmed a little in the bed. _Great. I have to use the can._

She eased herself out of the tangle of bodies on the bed. Doc, who had been snuggled up to her, frowned in his sleep and began to stir. Not wanting to wake him, she gave him a pillow to hold until her return. Marty and Jennifer slept on, both twisted in strange positions. Josephine couldn't help but smile. It was all so close, so peaceful. She felt a slight pang of guilt at leaving it.

She listened for intruders and detected a semi-familiar heartbeat -- Clara's. She sighed, feeling her stomach twist again. Ever since first seeing her with Doc 2, Josephine had felt uneasy around the woman. _Emmett keeps telling me he loves me and me alone. Why can't I believe him? Why do I keep thinking that maybe he'd want to be with Clara more? I don't even know the woman, yet I want to tell her to leave Emmett alone. What if she's angry at me for falling in love with her man? Worse yet, what if she tries to steal my Emmett away from me? Maybe I should talk to her -- get these feelings out? But will they make things worse or better?_

She headed into the living room engrossed in these worried thoughts. Clara was sitting on the couch, looking into the fire she had just relit. "Oh, hello, Miss Grey," she said politely, noticing the vampire. "What are you doing up?"

"I had to go to the bathroom. Where's the toilet, please?"

"Outside," Clara said, puzzled.

"Right, outhouses. I'm used to indoor plumbing." _Even since my earliest days._

"Emmett -- my Emmett -- told me about that," Clara nodded. "Must be much more convenient."

"Far more sanitary too. Thank you." Josie darted out of the house.

When she returned, having washed her hands with the outside pump, Clara was still sitting in the living room. Josie couldn't help but notice her face looked pensive. "If you don't mind my asking, why are you up?"

Clara looked up, startled. "I couldn't sleep. This has been a rather large shock for me, you know." _ This is all so confusing. First Emmett tells me he's a time traveler. Now another one of him shows up at our door. With his own girlfriend. What if my Emmett has a girlfriend at home, back in his own time? Will he abandon me in 1985 for her? Or what if he falls for this new woman, Josephine? I don't want her to take my true love away. What if she wants revenge for my being with Emmett?_

Josie's eyes widened in astonishment. Clara felt the exact same way that she did! She suddenly got the urge to get to know Clara better. "Do you want to talk?"

Clara looked a little surprised, but nodded. Josie sat down beside her, wondering where to begin. "So. . . . Are you from Hill Valley?"

Clara shook her head. "New Jersey. My mother and father weren't too keen on me moving so far out here. They expected me to marry a high society man and settle down nearby. They didn't even approve of me having a job." She sighed, bitterly. "When I left home, they told me not to come back without a husband. I suppose now that I'm going to marry Emmett, I could return, but I doubt they'd accept him."

"Is that why you're so willing to give up your life here?"

The teacher nodded. "I'm in love with Emmett. With him by my side, I know I can adapt to anything, even a new time in the future." She looked curiously at Josie. "Is that how you feel when you're with your Emmett?"

Josephine nodded, smiling. "He helped to make my life more bearable. I feel in love with him at first sight. I could sense a -- a _spark_ in him." She grew dreamy. "He's so loving and giving. I'm so glad I met him."

"So am I," said Clara, loosening up. "Where are you from, Miss Grey?"

"You can call me Josephine," Josie said. "I'm from Italy, originally, but my family emigrated to America while I was very young." That was true -- in vampire terms at least. "I spent most of my young life moving around the country. I only ended up in Hill Valley because my sister succeeded in getting me committed, and I was transferred to their sanitarium."

Clara put a hand over her mouth. "Well. That sounds like an awful life."

"Not really. That's how I met my Emmett. And it's not too different from you moving across the country." She regarded Clara. "What do you and your Emmett have in common? Why did you fall in love?"

Clara grew indignant. "We both love Jules Verne and astronomy," she snapped. "I have as much right to him as you do."

"I didn't mean that the way it sounded," Josie apologized. "I know that -- You like Jules Verne?"

"He's one of my favorite authors," Clara said with a smile. "Especially From the Earth to the Moon."

"I _loved_ From the Earth to the Moon!" Josie exclaimed. "I adore Jules Verne. My favorite has to be Around the World in 80 Days. After I read that, I wanted to recreate his journey. I actually drew up all the plans."

Both women laughed, the ice broken. "Did you succeed?" Clara wanted to know.

"No, unfortunately. My sister got in the way again."

Clara sighed. "I'd love to visit the moon someday. Do you think Jules Verne was right?"

"The first moon landing was in 1969," Josie grinned. "Jules Verne was a darn good predictor of the future, actually."

The teacher recalled one of her first dates with her Doc. "So he wasn't quoting Jules Verne after all," she whispered. "He was telling me what really happened."

Josie leaned against the back of the couch. "Hey, both my Emmett and me are interested in history, so I can tell you about some of the big events. The whole reason we were in 1955 was because my Emmett refused to keep living in 1986. Anything you'd like to know in particular?"

"Oh, my Emmett's told me plenty already. We're going to have a Great Depression, two World Wars, the Roaring Twenties, the Korean War--"

"Korean War?" Josie repeated, confused. "I don't think we've ever been at war with Korea, either North or South. Vietnam, however -- _that's_ a war. Nixon was still trying to end it when we left."

Now it was Clara's turn to look confused. "But Emmett told me that there was a Korean War, and that the president in 1985 is someone named Ronald Reagan. He hasn't told me about this 'Vietnam War' yet."

Josie frowned -- then snapped her fingers. "Oh, that's right! Clara, did you understand what your Emmett told you? That we're from an alternate time-line?"

"Enough to get the idea."

"Well, from 1955 on, I bet we have different histories." Her face grew dark. "Biff Tannen did a pretty good job of wrecking the world, it seems."

"I'm still trying to come to grips with the fact Buford Tannen is going to have grandchildren."

Josie sniggered. "Yes, he and his wife must make a lovely pair." She cocked her head. "You know, I like you Miss Clayton -- Clara. You seem very nice."

"So do you. I suppose we must have things in common. After all, we're both in love with the same man," Clara smiled.

"Well, almost the same," Josie shrugged. "You know, I'd like to see what the differences are between them. We'll have to ask them later." She stuck out her hand. "Friends, Clara?"

Clara shook it. "Friends, Josephine."

Monday, September 14th

6: 02 A. M.

The two sets of time travelers gathered around the breakfast table. "We slept later than I thought," Doc 2 commented, looking at his watches.

"That won't be a problem, will it?" asked Doc, wondering how they were going to fake breakfast. "With your blacksmith shop?"

"No, of course not. Even in this temporal period, people know me as eccentric. They won't think anything of it."

"May I help you, Clara?" Josie asked as Clara prepared pancakes and bacon. "I was very good at preparing bacon."

"No, that's all right. You're the guest," Clara refused gently.

"You two seem to be getting along better at least," Doc noted cheerfully.

"We had a talk last night," Josephine said. "Turns out we're not so different from each other. Which reminds me; we got to wondering last night how different _you_ two are. Obviously the fact my Emmett was committed is the biggie, but what about the other details?"

"Hmm. That's an interesting thought." Doc 2 regarded Doc with interest. "What _was_ your life like before you were committed?"

"I imagine much of our early history is the same," Doc shrugged. "Were you born on October 22nd, 1921, to parents Elias and Sarah Von Braun?" Doc 2 nodded. "You had an older sister named Emily Carmichael?" Another nod. "Graduated college at 18 with a Ph. D. in quantum physics?"

Doc 2 nodded once more. "No wonder I never understand you," Marty 2 grinned.

Doc 2 briefly gave him a look, then smiled. "Maybe your double can act as a translator," he joked along.

"Glad to help," Marty said, going along. "It's not that hard if you've lived with him for a while."

"I guess not, 'cause I am starting to understand a little of what he says. What about you, Jennifer?"

"Most of it goes right over my head," Jennifer confessed. "What about the me that's your girlfriend?"

"Same as me."

"Speaking of girlfriends," Doc 2 said, steering the conversation back on topic, "did you have any girlfriends? Before Josephine, I mean."

"He told me he had two," Josie said, concealing her discomfort at the question.

"If their names were Lucy Childs and Jane Doxton, that's the same too," Clara added, serving the pancakes. She, too, looked rather uncomfortable.

"I also told you what they did to me, right?" both Docs said in unison to their respective girlfriends. They looked at each other a moment, then sighed. "Lucy dumped you when you were disowned, and Jane ran away with your biggest rival," Doc nodded to Doc 2. He didn't need to put it into a question.

Clara gave Doc 2 a gentle kiss. "Forget about Lucy and Jane," she advised. "We're happy together now."

"Clara's right. Forget about them." Josie nibbled Doc's neck, causing a noticeable reaction.

"Well, that's one difference between our tastes in girlfriends," Doc 2 noted. "Josephine seems a little -- wilder. No offense."

"Oh, none taken. I just don't have the same morals as everyone else." She kept nibbling.

"Could you save that for after breakfast, please?" Clara requested gently, although she was smiling every so slightly.

"Like I said, not the same morals. Especially not for a Victorian-era girl." She gave Doc a quick neck lick before pulling back.

"It's going to be an adjustment, true," Clara said. "But I think I'll get used to it. I'm sure you and Dr. Brown haven't -- I'm sure you know what I'm saying."

Both Doc and Josie blushed. Clara's eyes went wide. "Things certainly _do_ change in the future!"

"What about after 1955?" Doc 2 quickly said, seeing the situation getting out of track. "That's when things would change more drastically if you think about it logically."

"I burnt down my house in 1962," Doc said, noticing with a start Josephine calmly eating her pancakes. _Josie? How on earth are you managing that?_

_It's an ability I cultivated throughout the years. I'll have to vomit it up later though._

"August 2nd, 1962? I burnt my mansion down as well. What else?"

"I received early retirement in 1964, for my 'radical' ideas. And before and after then I had been the recipient of quite a few suspicious police visits."

"Huh. I wasn't handed early retirement until 1966. And the police usually didn't bother me unless I was making too much noise."

"They certainly bothered me. Biff was behind it all, I know it. When I accused him of unethical business practices in 1966, he had his hired goons pay me a visit."

"Did you know my Dad?" Marty 2 asked. "The other George McFly?"

"Indeed I did. I was part of his protest group against Biff. We were all arrested multiple times, but we kept on." He smiled. "George even won an award for his efforts." Then he became very sober. "That's when he got killed."

"We know. I broke into the library during our brief stay in your world and found all the appropriate newspapers. Speaking of which, did you ever find out about the almanac before meeting us?"

Doc knew what he meant. "Yes, I saw it in his pocket while examining newspapers. The instant George died, I knew something was wrong. I received a visit from Marty in the past, the same as you." In a quieter voice, he added, "Biff killed him, didn't he?"

Marty 2 nodded. "He told me. He planned to kill me 'cause I knew too much about the almanac. I had to ask him, otherwise Doc and I might not have been able to stop it."

"Well, technically, we stopped it," Josie smiled.

"Hey, where you guys in our house when you found out all the stuff about our world?" Marty asked. "Because we found some really weird junk that definitely didn't belong there."

Doc 2 looked surprised. "I tried to insure we left little to no trace of our visit."

"You succeeded, don't worry. It wasn't much, just the receipt for the almanac and the top of Biff's cane. If that belongs to the same Biff Tannen."

"It does. But we're wasting valuable time sitting here and talking. We should continue this discussion on the way to the Delgado Mine. Come along, Marty, let's hitch up the carriage. And we'll most likely have to rent some horses from Joe Statler as well."

"We have our own modes of transportation, don't worry about that," Doc assured his double.

"That's not quite what I meant. Riding over that rocky ground could have caused serious damage to your car. That's how I ripped the fuel line on mine. If it doesn't run on it's own, we'll need more horses to tow it."

"Our car is perfectly fine."

"That's what I thought too when we first came here. Better safe than sorry, right?"

"Trust us, we didn't do anything to the car," Josie said. "We would have been able to tell right away."

"I still think we should rent the horses. As a safety measure."

"Oh, all right, if you insist," Doc conceded. "Would you like me and Marty-tin to help you with the carriage?"

"I'm sure we can handle it, but you're welcome to join us." The Docs and Marty 2 left, Marty opting to stay behind to help with the dishes. Ever since he had heard his other self was Jennifer 2's boyfriend, he wanted to stay close to her. Not that he though Marty 2 would try to take advantage of her -- he just thought he was feeling the same things. _This has been one weird trip._

Doc returned shortly, carrying some clothes. "Catch!" He tossed some trousers and a serape to Marty and dresses to the girls. "My double brought up a very good point. As long as we're going to be living in the past, we'll have to dress for the part. Especially in mine and Marty's case."

Josie looked at hers with some distaste. "Doesn't look too comfortable."

"You'll get used to it," Clara shrugged. "Do you need some help getting it on?"

"I just might."

Monday, September 14th

10: 17A. M.

Doc 2, Marty 2, and Clara were spellbound the entire way to the Delgado Mine. The vampires described in detail the hell of their lives back in the Biffhorrific 1985/86. Marty 2 shivered as they wound up. "I can't believe those jerks in the hotel. They really let Biff's goons do that to you?"

"I've got the scars to prove it," Marty 2 said quietly. "Nobody gave a shit. Most of them were drug addicts and drunks, so they only gave a shit about themselves. It was like I didn't exist."

"How dreadful," Clara whispered, very pale. "I hope your 1985 isn't like that, Emmett."

"It certainly makes living in this era seem like a walk in the park," Doc 2 said, holding the reins of the horses. "We only saw a small cross-section of the horrors of Hell Valley, judging from that story. I'm impressed you all survived to band together."

"It makes me want to slap Biff Tannen very hard when I meet him," was Clara's opinion.

"I'll help," Jennifer said, getting more comfortable. "Your 1985 sounds like heaven. I wish we could go home with you three."

"You may be able to," Doc 2 told her. "If Dr. Brown's -- that feels so odd -- theory holds up, and it wasn't your vehicle that precipitated your dimensional jump, it's quite possible you could return home with us."

"That _would_ be heaven," Doc said. "Speaking of the DeLorean, we've reached the mine."

"Ah! It didn't take us too long to arrive here, either. Only -- four hours?! Great Scott, it felt like much less. No matter." He pulled gently back on the reins. "Whoa Tom, whoa Edison."

"Just like Dr. Brown's dog," Marty nodded. _I hate having to call him "Dr. Brown."_ "Thomas Edison."

"Actually, Marty named Tom, Martin," Doc 2 corrected. "We didn't realize the coincidence until the horses were used to the names."

"Tom Petty," Marty 2 nodded sheepishly. "I'm a fan of the Heartbreakers."

They got out of the carriage, Doc 2 tethering Tom and Edison to a nearby tree. "Where did you hide the DeLorean?"

"In one of the side tunnels. I'll show you there. But someone's going to have to stay outside to watch the horses."

Doc 2 nodded once. "And for any interlopers. Marty, Martin, would you mind staying out here?"

"Nah," they both said, sounding like an echo. They looked at each other, then shrugged. "I want to talk to him some more."

"No doubt. Lead on, Dr. Brown." Doc 2 blinked and shook his head. "Very odd." Doc simply smiled at him and lead everyone else into the cave.

Marty looked at Marty 2, who was patting Tom's head. "What's it like?"

"Huh?"

"Having George for a father," Marty clarified. "What's it like? I don't remember much."

"Better than having Biff for a dad. The thing is, I lived with two different Georges."

Now it was Marty's turn to say "Huh?" _Two different Georges? What the heck does he mean by that?_

"Did you see him in 1955 before he hit Biff?"

"Yeah. He was acting like a nerd."

"The version I lived with the first time around was an older version of that. Afraid to say no to anybody, bullied by Biff, never paying attention to us. . . ." Marty 2 gave a snort. "Good thing I went back and changed all that."

"Yeah. What's Cool George like?"

"Confident and a well-known author -- he'd just published his first book when I came back. Kinda the opposite of everything Nerd George was. Really busy, though." Marty 2 looked a little sad. "That's something that didn't change. I always felt like the odd one out."

"At least you weren't abused. One time Biff beat me so bad I had to go to the hospital. I don't know why he paid the bill. Would have been easier to abandon me there -- or let me die." Marty blinked back tears. "You may have met that Biff, but trust me, you didn't see my life."

Marty 2 grimaced. "That guy's the biggest bastard on the planet. I guess I might have made things worse asking about the almanac."

"It's okay. The way Biff and Lorraine treated me convinced me to run away. I might have never met my Doc if it wasn't for you guys."

"What's living with _Dr. Brown_ like?" Marty 2 asked, his grimace turning into a look of curiosity. "I mean, ever since we got here, I've been living with Doc, but I know they're really different."

"Overprotective might be the best word," Marty laughed. "He's always terrified that something's going to happen to me. I was scared of him when I first met him, but he won me over. Treating me like an actual _person_ helped a lot." He heard a noise in the distance and looked around carefully. "When Josephine came along, I was really jealous at first. I thought she was gonna take Doc away from me."

"That's how I felt about Clara too," Marty 2 admitted, shame-faced and blushing. "When Doc met her, he started talking about just sending _me_ back to the future. I got pissed and told him that either we both went or neither of us went. We got into this huge fight about it and didn't talk to each other for a week. Then Clara came over to visit Doc, and just to be a jerk, I spilled the beans. Doc yelled at me, but ended up saying that I was telling the truth. She took it pretty well." Marty 2 grinned a little, making Marty wonder about the meaning of the word "well." "When it was all said and done with, she asked, 'Why can't I come too?' Doc had to make a discussion out of it, but in the end--" He shrugged. "Well, you know that bit."

Marty nodded absently. His keen ears had detected horses coming their way. He wasn't going to say anything until Marty 2 heard it, but he was monitoring it. "What about that Buford Tannen guy you mentioned in your letter?"

"Him?" Marty 2 snorted. "He's the reason all Tannens are @$$holes. I bet that's where your Biff got his mean streak. We did a shoeing job for him once. He later came back all pissed off, telling us his horse had thrown a shoe and made him break some bottle of whiskey. Of course he blamed us, and I lost my temper and we got into a fight. Things just escalated during the week, and finally we set up this big showdown in front of the saloon." His blush of shame came back again. "I nearly got myself and Doc killed all because I was afraid of being called yellow."

"What happened?"

"Doc and Clara were trying to convince me not to do it, but it was Seamus that helped hit the nail home."

"Seamus? Like in Martin Seamus McFly?"

Marty 2 nodded. "Great-great grandfather. He helped me and Doc out when we first got to Hill Valley. He showed up in the saloon, saying that he felt like what was going to happen had something to do with his future. Well, that gets me to thinking -- he had a brother called Martin too, and the guy ended up dead because he didn't like being called a coward. I really don't want to end up dead in the local cemetery, especially not shot. So I tell everybody he's an @$$hole, we sneak out -- and Buford manages to get his hands on Doc."

Marty felt his fists automatically clench. Despite the fact he had called his "father" overprotective, he acted the same way about Doc sometimes. He forced himself to loosen up, shaking out his hands. "So then what?"

"I ended up using a trick I saw in a Clint Eastwood movie. I hid an oven door under my shirt as a bullet-proof vest." Marty 2 snickered. "I punched Buford's lights out, and he fell right into a wagon of manure!"

Marty laughed hard. "That must have been great! Boy, I wish Biff could end up in manure!"

"He does," Marty 2 said with a proud smiled. "My first time in 1955, I made him _and _his goons crash into a manure truck." Marty laughed until he was hoarse.

Once he had calmed down, he decided that the horses were close enough to deserve mention. He wiped the tears from his eyes. "Hey, do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That noise. I think they're hoofbeats."

Marty 2 listened hard. "Those _are_ horses. Think we should tell the Docs?"

"You tell the Docs; I'll stay out here to see what they want. They'll be in the second side tunnel to the right, that's where we stashed the car."

"Okay, thanks." Marty 2 turned to go inside, but paused briefly. "Oh, yeah -- if whoever it is calls you 'Clint Eastwood,' that's me. It was the first name that popped into my head when we got here."

"Gotcha." Marty 2 vanished into the mine entrance. Marty found a fairly large rock nearby to hide behind and observed the scene. Four men rode up, all of them dirty and extremely smelly. Marty recognized the horses they rode as the four he and his "family" had fed from before. _Hmm, I don't like the looks of these guys. . . ._

One of the smelliest ones, with two missing teeth in the front, noticed the carriage set-up near the entrance. "Hey, look, Buford! That's the blacksmith's carriage.

The one called Buford turned to look. Marty's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. _Christ, it's Buford Tannen! He looks almost exactly like Biff with a beard and mustache! Jesus, I've got the chills._

Buford smiled, showing rotten teeth matching a rotten disposition. "Then that damn yellow-belly Eastwood will be here too." He pulled free his pistol. "And when he comes out. . . ."

Marty realized instantly that Buford meant to murder his "twin". He wasn't about to let that happen. Knowing he was taking a huge risk, he stepped out from behind the rock. "Hey Tannen!"

Buford Tannen turned to face him. "Well, if it ain't Eastwood himself." His grin changed to a glare. "We've still got a fight goin', runt."

"I don't doubt it. Smells like you haven't gotten the manure out of your clothes."

Tannen's face darkened, although it was hard to tell through all the grime. "I broke out of jail to get you, Eastwood," he growled. "You ain't escaping this time." He fired a pair of shots, which Marty easily dodged. "Stand still, runt! I'm not askin' you to dance!"

"Is _that_ your cover for a bad shot?" Marty taunted. He had no idea if he sounded anything like "Eastwood," and frankly, he didn't care! This was fun, being able to get back at a Tannen. He let Buford waste another bullet trying to hit him.

One of Buford's gang chewed on a wad of tobacco nervously. "Buford, maybe we should go. This doesn't seem natural."

"What's the matter, _scared_?" Marty teased, getting cocky.

This _really_ got Buford's goat. He jumped off his horse and started toward Marty. The teen vampire took a leap at him. His face was filled with confidence that he could get the drop on this guy.

That look soon changed to shock and pain as he felt something stab him deep in his stomach. He'd been so focused on the gun, he hadn't occurred to him Buford might have a back-up. Like a knife.

Buford grinned evilly, now resembling Biff Tannen even more. "No one makes a fool out of me, Eastwood," he snarled, placing the barrel of his gun right above where his knife was sticking into the teen. "Last man I killed, it took him three days to die. You want to be that lucky?" Without another word, he fired.

In the mine, Doc was helping Doc 2 examine the DeLorean when there was an explosion of pain in his stomach. He gasped and fell to his knees, clutching his abdomen. It felt like he had been first stabbed and then shot!

"Emmett!" Josie was at Doc's side in an instant, eyes wide with worry. "Emmett, are you all right?!"

Doc didn't answer her. "Marty," he whispered cryptically, his breathing ragged. Then he jumped to his feet and dashed out of the tunnel. To the human members of the group, it was more like he had teleported. "Great Scott! I don't think I'm capable of running that fast!" Doc 2 exclaimed, completely stunned. They all followed him as quickly as possible, Josie exchanging a worried glance with Jennifer.

Marty lay on the ground, holding his upper stomach, face screwed up in pain. Doc knelt by his side in a panic. He was almost hallucinating that he was back in Hell Valley, Marty lying on the pavement, still mortal and vulnerable to death. . . . He shoved the image away and concentrated on helping his friend in the here and now. "Marty, what happened?"

Marty sat up a little, tears forming in his eyes. "Shit. . . . The wounds heal fast, so why does the pain stay?" He looked up at Doc, really noticing him for the first time. "Buford Tannen showed up outside. You wouldn't believe how much he looks like an on-the-skids Biff. He wanted to kill "Eastwood" -- that's the name my other self's going under. So I stepped out and started acting all cocky. I guess that's what did me in, 'cause Buford managed to stab me in the gut with a Bowie knife. Then he shot me."

Doc looked at Marty's shirt. The red-pink of recently healed wounds showed through the holes, which were slightly bloody. As he watched, the redness faded to nothing. "I have no idea how we're going to explain this, but at least you're safe." He pulled him into a tight hug, then scolded, "And next time, remember that you're not invincible!"

The rest of the group came outside, the humans panting slightly. "How the hell did you do that?!" Marty 2 demanded of Doc. "I swear I felt a breeze when you flew by me! And you're not even sweating or anything!"

"I'm completely incapable of running that fast," Doc 2 added, amazed. "And I've been living in a time conducive to physical exercise for a month!"

"The horses turned out to be Buford Tannen and company. He said he was going to kill 'Eastwood.' So I distracted him so he wouldn't get to -- Marty."

"_Distracted_?! To Buford, 'distract' means kill the son of a b*tch who's annoying him!"

Clara and Josephine both approached Marty and Doc at the same time. "It's all right, Clara. Dr. Brown and I can handle this."

"If Buford Tannen hurt him, he's going to need all the help he can get. We're going to have to take him to a doctor."

"No, really, I'm fine," Marty said quickly. "He's gone, right? My plan worked."

"You're delirious," Marty 2 told him.

"He might well be. I know 1885 medicine isn't the best, but it's all we have right now. If we're going to have any chance of saving his life, we need to get him back into town right away."

Clara nodded her agreement -- but then frowned. She had just realized that Doc's hand, which he had quickly positioned over where Marty had gotten hurt, was awfully clean. Even though she had never seen a stomach wound, she felt sure it would bleed profusely. She glanced at Doc suspiciously, getting the feeling something was up.

Doc gave her a slightly-embarrassed smile. "What is it, Miss Clayton?"

Now she _knew_ something was up. She had told Doc to call her Clara that morning, and he had agreed. There was no reason to change now. "Where's the blood?"

"What blood?" Marty tried to give her a hypnotic nudge. "I told you, I'm fine."

The hypnotic nudge didn't work. "I know Buford. He would have never left if he wasn't certain he'd killed you. Let me see those wounds."

"There's nothing to see," Marty said, trying again.

"You'd best show her," Doc 2 said, completely confused by Marty's reluctance to accept help. "She can be very stubborn when she wants to be."

"Besides, do you want to bled to death?" Marty 2 asked, similarly puzzled.

Doc and Marty exchanged a glance, then sighed together. Very slowly, Doc took his hand away and let Clara inspect Marty's stomach. The look on her face when she discovered Marty had no wounds was priceless. She poked her fingers through the holes in his shirt, then confirmed that there were matching holes in the back. Going very pale, she stumbled back quickly, as if afraid their mere presence would harm her. "What _are_ you? You're definitely not human!"

"We used to be, if that's any comfort," Doc said weakly. "We didn't want to tell you because we weren't sure of how well you'd take the news."

By now, both Doc 2 and Marty 2 had also seen that Marty was, indeed, fine. "Holy shit," Marty 2 mouthed, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. Doc 2 wasn't faring much better, making random babbling noises. Finally, he managed to form a coherent question. "What in the name of Sir Issac H. Newton _are_ you three?"

In response, Doc, Marty, Jennifer, and Josephine all flashed their fangs.


	16. The Wrap Up

Chapter 16

Monday, September 14th

1: 49 P. M.

It took three hours to explain the entire story to their dumbfounded hosts and to assure them that they were in no danger. Doc 2 had plenty ask about their natures and powers. Marty 2 just stared at them bug-eyed. Clara seemed interested in how _not_ to get bitten. It was quite an exhausting experience for the vampires, and being out in the sunshine didn't help matters. So it was really no surprise to them when Jennifer finally fainted. The vampires got their alternates to leave them alone for a little while and brought her inside the mine.

As Josie revived Jennifer with a little of her blood, she muttered sadly, "Well, that's the end of that."

"Of what?" Marty asked, wincing a little. The pain hadn't quite faded away yet. He suspected being awake in the sunlight had something to do with that.

"Of us going back to the good future with them. There's no way they'll take a bunch of vampires with them. Did you see the way Clara was looking at me? She was scared out of her mind!"

The revived Jennifer nodded her agreement, tears welling up in her eyes. "Any money says they'll destroy our car for parts, then just leave us here."

"I don't think I'll make that bet. But maybe living here won't be all that bad. We could take up my other self's business when they leave. And with all the animals roaming around the countryside, we'll never be short of blood."

"What about Clara?" Marty probed. "I think it's common knowledge Doc 2 and her are an item. How do you explain her getting replaced by Josie and Jennifer?"

"Theatrics," Doc explained. "I'll pretend that we had a fight, and that she left. Then I'll fake falling in love with Josie." His choice of words earned him a look from the she-vampire. "Jennifer can pretend to be her daughter. Josie and I can get properly married, and we'll all live happily ever after."

"You make it sound so easy," Josie told him, sitting down by Jennifer. "It'll be much harder than that, of course. Although," she conceded with a grin, "I would love to make our family official."

"Personally, I don't give a f**k where or when we live, as long as we're together and away from Biff. It would be great to go to the nice future, but I could get used to living in this time too."

Doc shrugged, then sighed. "They're probably waiting for us out there. Jennifer, do you want to stay in here, or do you think you can face the sunlight again?"

"I'm better. I'll go out with you guys." They emerged from the mine, ready to face their judgement.

Clara was the first to speak. "I suppose I should apologize for what I said at breakfast. I didn't realize your were trying to have some, Josephine."

It took a moment for the vampires to get the joke. "You mean you're all right with this?"

"It's going to take some getting used to, but then everything in my life currently does," Clara smiled. "It's really no more incredible than time travel or having two Emmetts around."

"And vampires or no, we would _never_ strand you in a foreign time," Doc 2 said firmly. "True, I need time to get used to the idea, but I'm not so cruel as to do that. Frankly, I'm quite fascinated by your condition and would love to question you further. But getting ourselves back to the future must be our top priority. Let's get your car into the sunlight. I didn't detect any major differences in design, but my eyes aren't as good as yours in the dark."

Monday, September 21st, 1885

Hill Valley

7: 13 P. M.

It had taken Doc 2, Marty 2, and Clara a day or two to fully accept the fact they lived with vampires, but eventually everything had been straightened out. Doc and Doc 2 had done a few tests with Doc's DeLorean, and Doc 2 had deemed it a fit recovery vehicle. A few repairs were made to both cars to make them fully operational and time travel worthy. Doc 2 and Marty 2 had closed up shop in town and announced they were moving to New Jersey with Clara. The townspeople had responded with a nice party for them. Marty 2 delighted in telling everyone how Buford had crashed it and "freaked" at the sight of him.

And now, the big day had arrived. The time circuits were set, and both vehicles were fully fueled for time travel. A thick chain connected Doc 2's DeLorean to Doc's, so it could be towed through temporal space. All the necessary luggage was packed, and everyone was raring to go. There was just one more detail to be taken care of. "Doc?"

"Yes Martin?" Doc 2 replied, giving the DeLoreans a final double-check.

"What about this?" Marty held up the almanac, which they had all forgotten about in their excitement. "I don't want to take it back to the future with us. What if Biff gets his hands on it _again_?"

Doc 2 frowned, then looked at his own Marty, who was playing with Edison. "Marty?" Marty 2 looked up. "Martin just asked what we should do with the almanac. I'm going to leave that decision up to you, as you were the one responsible for bringing it here. What do you want done to it?"

Marty 2 looked at it disgustedly, then got a brainstorm. "Why don't we bury it and leave it here? Nobody will be able to use it if they find it. And if anything happens to these guys--" he indicated Doc and Marty "--and we need it, we can find it fast."

Doc 2 smiled proudly. "Now _that's _thinking fourth-dimensionally. Good idea, Marty." Marty 2's lips quirked upwards at the praise. "You and Martin can go out and find a suitable location for burial."

"Sure thing, Doc. We'll be back in a sec." The Martys left through the back, talking eagerly about getting home.

Doc, sitting on a table and swinging a leg idly, watched them go with a slight smile. "They've gotten very used to each other these past days. Anyone who wasn't a party to our secret might even think they were normal twin boys."

"Marty's done a lot of growing and changing during this trip," Doc 2 agreed, tightening a wire. "With any luck, it will lead to a very bright future."

"Speaking of the future, what will you do once we get back?" Doc asked, leaning forward, an interested expression on his face.

"Clara and I will move into my home for a little while, then get married and look for a bigger house. A garage is no place for a married couple. I'll return the unused portion of my plutonium to the government as well, which will mostly likely give us a small nest egg to live on for a bit. I'm practically broke back home."

"Are you going to look for a job?"

"I run a small repair business from my van. 'Dr. E. Brown Enterprises -- 24 HR. Scientific Services.' I also occasionally publish articles in magazines and sub at the local college. Lately Marty's been pestering me to sell some of my inventions, so I might go into that line of work as well. Or move into the country and make good use of my black-smithing skills." He opened the Mr. Fusion generator on the back of his car and threw in an apple core he had found somewhere. "What about yourself? What will you do once we return to 1985?"

"Josephine and I have decided we want to make our 'family' official. Once we get used to the fact we're going to be in the good future, it's off to Reno or Las Vegas to falsify documents and get married." He chuckled. "Under her name, of course. I don't want to raise any unnecessary suspicions about you."

"That's very kind of you. Have you thought about the possibility of meeting our reality's Josephine Grey -- if we have one?"

"Josie doesn't think her double, if she exist, will suspect anything. After all, there's more than one Josie Grey in the world. Having that be her married name will help too." He leaned back and returned to Doc 2's original question about their future in 1985. "After getting married, who knows? We might travel the world, or settle down in some small town." He paused, a wistful expression appearing on his face. "Although if the Hill Valley of your world is as peaceful as you've described it, I'll be sorry to leave it behind."

"I'm going to be sorry to see you go," Doc 2 admitted, surprising his vampire double. "It's nice to have someone else to talk to who thinks like me."

"That's because I _am_ you," Doc snickered.

"Not really. Not totally, in any case. You have a different view on life, different ideas than myself. Our DNA may be the same -- mostly -- but our life experiences have been very different. And it's those experiences that define our personalities."

"The whole 'nature versus nurture' argument," Doc agreed, hopping down from the table. He was nervous about going back to the future, and it showed through his almost constant motion in his waking hours. "It's been enlightening, discussing theories and problems with you. Judging from their reactions, our respective 'familes' feel the same way. Your Marty is even teaching my Martin how to hoverboard."

"It's a strange friendship, but a good one. You'll have to contact us every once in a while to let us know how you're doing." Doc 2's lips quirked upward. "We can be pen-pals."

Doc returned the smile, but was prevented from answering by the arrival of Clara and Josie. Clara was twisting a portion of her dress in her hands, while Josephine had a comforting hand on her shoulder. Doc could sense his soon-to-be wife was nervous too, but she was hiding it well. "There's nothing to worry about, Clara," Josie was saying as they walked in. "Trust me, people adapt quickly to _any_ situation. I've had to change for the times so often I've lost count. It won't be as hard as you think."

"Anxious?" Doc 2 asked, not needing to ask about what. "I am too. I've been away from the bustle of 1985 for over a month. It'll be an adjustment for me too."

"Yes, but I'm going 100 years into the future! Hearing about it can be frightening -- what will living there be like?"

"Don't worry about it," Doc 2 said soothingly, going over and kissing her. "I'll be there to guide you every step of the way. And once I get the DeLorean fixed, we can visit this time whenever we want. You don't have to leave it behind completely."

Doc felt obligated to say something too. "In a way, my group is just like you," he offered. "We've never seen this future ourselves. We'll be completely dumbfounded too."

"It can't be _that_ different," Clara argued.

"If there's a God, it will be," Josie said. "Take it from a woman who's over a millennia old. You'll adapt quickly." Clara managed a smile for her.

The Martys returned, Jennifer tagging along behind this time. "Everything's all set, Doc. The almanac's buried in the backyard, under one of the trees. We're ready to get out of here."

"Clara, are you ready?" Doc 2 asked his bride to be.

"Not really. But then I doubt I'll ever be really ready, so we may as well go."

Doc looked at Josie and her confident expression. "I'm ready. I feel like I was born ready." _Oh, Emmett, I'm so excited. . . ._

_Me too, mein Liebe. Marty, Jennifer?_

_I'm shaking,_ Jennifer thought. _I want to go, but I'm afraid this is all some great dream, and that I'm gonna wake up when we time travel._

_I just want to get there as soon as possible. So I can see Biff waxing George's car._ "Yeah, I think we're all ready," Marty said aloud, smiling inwardly at his thoughts.

"All right then. Everyone, get your luggage and we'll head off."

Within minutes, everything was packed and ready to go. Doc 2 took command of the front car, and everyone squeezed into the limited seating. "Doc, are you sure that this'll work?"

"Dr. Brown and I did a test. The chain should hold long enough to get us back into 1985 at least. We won't leave them behind." He accelerated carefully over the flatter stretches of the desert landscape. In the back car, the vampires crossed their fingers tightly. _Good future, here we come._

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Sunday, October 27th, 1985

Hill Valley

3: 40 A. M.

They arrived in darkness, an almost impenetrable darkness. Doc and his company strained their eyes, but even their vampire-enhanced vision couldn't make out much. All they could tell was that they were in a structure of some sort, one that spread out as it reached toward the sky. Doc 2 brought them to a stop and got out. "Damn," he grumbled. "It's pitch black out here. I can't see a thing!"

"Where are we, Doc?" Marty 2 asked.

"We'd like to know too," Doc agreed, getting out of Doc 2's DeLorean.

"Well, since we left near Clara's house -- no idea."

Jennifer sniffed. "I smell grass. Maybe we're in a field."

"Some field. There's paint residue here too," Josie reported. She listened closely, but only heard faintly the chirp of crickets and her company's heartbeats. She tried her eyes again and this time was able to make out another shape against the skyline. "And I think I see a tall building behind us."

Marty 2 laughed suddenly. "I bet we're in the football stadium! Would make sense, practically everything in 1885 Hill Valley was put in the same place as 1985 Hill Valley."

"I think you're right, Marty, even if you do have it back to front. The location of various businesses hasn't changed much over a century. Why should the school be any different?"

"What's a football stadium?" Clara asked wonderingly.

"It's an area for a sport with seating surrounding it," Doc 2 explained. "I'll show you later, in daylight."

"Okay then, we have a rough idea of where we are. Now how do we get out?" Josie wondered.

"Isn't there an entrance for the power mower or something?" Doc 2 asked Marty 2.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure there is," Marty 2 said. He frowned at his friend. "Doc, why'd we have to come back so early?"

"Imagine the stir we'd cause if we came back in daylight -- say 11: 00 A. M. The less people who see us, the better. Especially now that you and me have doubles."

"I'll go look for any exit," Doc offered. "I'll call you over when I find one."

"I've got a better idea." Doc 2 switched on their headlights. "I'll follow you in the car, that way everyone can see the exit as well."

"Ah, that is better." Doc took to the air, flying over to the bleachers. He dropped down beside them and started feeling his way around, investigating any and all gaps. After a moment his body was illuminated by the car headlights. Even though it was behind him, he had to squint his eyes at first. After many months of being in a world with very little sunshine and living from night to night, light hurt his eyes. He made himself bear it and kept looking.

He finally found the opening for the power mower, thankfully large enough for the DeLoreans to fit through. The others ran to join them, Clara and Marty 2 jumping into the front DeLorean. Doc and his family stayed outside, waiting as the others drove into the gap. With a smile, they spread their wings and flew out of the stadium, rejoining the group outside. Doc 2 saw them drop down in the headlights and immediately burst out of the car. None of them had ever seen the vampires fly before, and he was full of questions about this ability. "You never told me about wings! How on earth did you grow wings?!"

"I think Clara and Marty would appreciate it if you saved the questions for when we got back to your home," Doc said politely. Doc 2 frowned, but nodded. He walked back to the DeLorean, looking profoundly disappointed. The vampires chuckled softly and took to the air again, following Doc 2 as he bumped the DeLoreans back onto the road. 

When they reached the heart of Hill Valley, Doc gasped. A thrill went up his spine as he saw the clock tower, the non-adult shops, the soft streetlights. The parking lot was still there, but it wasn't full of drunkards and motorcyclists. In fact, he spotted only one bum, sleeping peacefully on a bench. All around them, there were the soft noises of other human beings, sleeping or taking a late-night walk.

Jennifer, Josephine, and Marty were stunned, to say the least. "Are we dead?" Jennifer whispered. "Is this heaven?"

"Smell that air," Josephine said, taking a deep whiff. "It's barely polluted."

"People are sleeping! At night!" Marty marveled. Then a thoughtful look appeared on his face. "Hey, I wonder if Marty 2's family lives at the same address my family used to. He told me that his McFlys were pretty much the same as mine when it came to who was born when and stuff like that."

"Maybe so, maybe not," Doc shrugged. "I doubt you'll get to see, however. As my other self said, the less people who know about us, the better."

After a fairly long drive, during which the vampires were bowled over by how different this Hill Valley was to home, they reached Doc 2's home. Doc noted it was the same garage he had lived in back in Hell Valley. The Burger King beside it was still open for business though. He and his "family" landed carefully away from the lights, not wanting to attract attention. Doc 2 got out of their car and unlocked the garage door. He and Doc undid the chain connecting the two cars, then drove in the first DeLorean and pushed the second in next to it. "Well," Doc 2 panted when everyone was inside, "welcome to my humble abode."

"It's certainly you, Emmett," said Clara with a smile, looking at the mess of mechanical parts and other junk.

"This reminds me of before I got thrown in that sanitarium," Doc said, examining the remains of some experiment. "I feel right at home. In fact, I remember starting one or two of these--"

A loud barking from inside the main body of the garage caught everyone's attention. Edison immediately answered, trotting over to the door and yapping. "That must be Einstein," Doc 2 said, unlocking the door leading into the house.

"Einstein?" Doc felt a pang. "It'll be good to see him again. When I found him after my return--" he blinked back tears as the memory came up, still painfully fresh in his heart. "Edison was the only survivor."

Both Martys patted him on the back. "It's okay, Dr. Brown. I'd get upset too. Einstein's sorta like my dog."

"Thanks," Doc smiled. They followed Doc 2 into the house. Einstein and Edison immediately ran over to each other and sniffed each other curiously. "Edison, that's your father. That's Einstein."

Edison didn't seem to care. He gave a yap and ran off, Einstein in pursuit. Chuckling, Doc gave his attention over to the rest of the room. It was far neater than his had ever been, with all the things he had treasured still in their places. The furniture was newer and cleaner, and there was a wrecked something built into the wall. The bookcase facing it looked completely out of order, too. "What happened here?" 

"I accidentally blew up the amp," Marty 2 blushed.

"I built Marty an amplifier for his 15th birthday," Doc 2 explained. "He used it and it overloaded." He looked at Marty scoldingly. "Marty, I told you _not_ to hook up to it!"

"Yeah, but you told me _after_ I'd already blown it up." Doc 2 looked confused, but that quickly changed to annoyance as he realized what Marty had meant. "I wouldn't have done it if I'd known. The thing blew me clear across the room and into your bookcase!"

"Great Scott! Marty, are you all right?" Doc 2 nervously gave Marty 2 a once-over. His thoughts were rather cryptic to the vampires: _Damn, what if that car accident simply aggravated an injury that was already there? I don't want a life stuck in that dump Hilldale for my best friend!_

"Yeah, Doc, I'm fine. I'm great."

Doc folded his arms, looking at Doc 2 with a faint smirk. Doc 2 looked back. "Yes?"

"Don't think you're his father my ass," Doc said simply. "What do you call what you just did?"

"Concern for my best friend's health," Doc 2 protested, although he was just beginning to blush.

"What the heck is he talking about?" Marty 2 asked, puzzled.

"You probably notice I treat Martin like my son. I once asked Doc if he felt the same way, and he said no."

"Liar," Marty 2 told Doc 2 with a grin. "It's really obvious, Doc. Even Dad makes jokes about it."

"It's not that I think I'm your father," Doc 2 said, his blush becoming more apparent. "It -- it comes naturally to act that way around you."

"Which means, subconsciously, you think it."

Doc 2 was spared from having to reply by Marty looking in his bookcase. "What's this folder?"

"My old theories," Doc 2 said, glad for a distraction.

"Yeah, I flipped through them when I was putting them away, Martin." There was a brief pause as he realized what he had just said, but Marty quickly recovered. "Some of them are really funny. I really liked the one about the fingernails, Doc."

Now both Docs were blushing fiercely. "I'm a scientist. My job is to make up theories about things I see in the world in an attempt to explain them."

Marty laughed as he flipped through the pages. "Oh, man, Doc, Dr. Brown, these are great! Being able to tell how long somebody's going to live by their fingernails? All mammals speak a common language? A kid's sex can be determined before they're conceived?!"

"I got that one from _you_," Doc said, speaking for both himself and his counterpart. An idea popped into his head. He quickly banished it from his mind so Marty couldn't find it and walked over to his friend.

"Yeah? How?"

"The fact that you and your brother and sister were still born as you and your brother and sister." Marty looked confused. "You see, considering how you changed your parents' lives, it's possible your genetics could have been altered. I was half-expecting you to be a girl when I met you again."

"Weird." Marty and Marty 2 tried to picture themselves as girls. "I wonder what I'd be as a girl. Marta? Marlene? Martina?"

"Probably Sally. I asked Lorraine once. Being friends with George also meant being friends with her."

"Did you get to see me as a baby?" Marty 2 asked, sitting down on Doc 2's couch.

"I got to hold you once," Doc said, smiling as he remembered. "You were adorable. I couldn't wait for us to become friends. But then--"

BRING!

Everyone jumped. "What on earth is that?" Clara exclaimed, frightened. Josie's eyes went to the fire alarm, her face going very pale.

"It's my telephone!" Doc 2 said, locating it on the end table near his couch. "Hello? What? Now? Can't it wait until morning? Yes, it is 24-hour services, but I was asleep! Please don't get that tone with me, sir. Please, I've had a very tiring night." He sighed. "Thank you." He hung up, looking very peeved. "Someone a few streets over. His grandfather clock stopped working." He gave a snort of disgust. "Sometimes I think this is the adult equivalent of the prank phone call. The people of this town love to take advantage of my offer of 24-hour services and call me in the middle of the night with frivolous requests." He cast an apologetic look toward Josephine, in Doc's arms. "I'm sorry if that scared you."

"It's all right," Josie said with a brave smile. "I just don't like being reminded about -- what nearly happened." She pulled Doc closer, shivering a little.

"Well, I am sorry. And if it had been the fire alarm, you and Clara would have been the first ones out, I assure you."

Doc patted Josie's back comfortingly, then thought about what Doc 2 had said. "I wouldn't mind taking those night calls. It would help fill the night hours."

Doc 2's eyes widened. "What did you just say?"

"I said I wouldn't mind taking your night calls. Why?"

"You got an idea, Doc?" Marty 2 asked, as good at reading the older man as his counterpart was.

"I think I have a way for our doubles to stay in Hill Valley."

Jennifer's eyes grew round. "Really?" 

"Yes. You only go out at night, after all. Why don't you take over our night-life? Dr. Brown can take these phone calls for me -- you'll get to keep that share of the income of course. The rest of you can just stay out of the public eye."

The vampires looked at each other with growing excitement. A chance to stay in a Hill Valley they'd dreamed of living in? How could they pass it up?

Clara, however, brought up a point. "Emmett, where are they going to live? The garage is barely big enough for two of us, least of all six!"

"We don't need a lot of space," Marty said. "Just enough to sleep in and fit a phone into."

"I'd let you live at my house, but I don't want my parents to know about this," Marty 2 excused himself. "There's gotta be someplace, though. . . ."

Doc snapped his fingers. "I've got it! The clock tower!"

Doc 2 gave him a strange look. "The courthouse is usually very busy--"

"Not the courthouse, the _clock tower_! There's a good amount of space up there. Certainly enough for the four of us to sleep."

Doc 2 looked a little doubtful. "Are you sure?"

"Positive! We've both been in that room. We'll all fit, I'm sure of it."

Doc 2 shrugged. "Well, if you're positive. . . ."

Marty suddenly snorted. "Oh, man, this one's priceless. You can certainly think them up, Doc."

Doc remembered his previous idea and went back over to Marty. "So, you find my theories funny, do you?" Marty nodded, mentally challenging him to do something about it. "All right then. Let's see how much you can laugh." He jumped on his friend and began tickling him unmercifully. Marty burst into hysterics, trying to roll away from Doc. Doc closed off all escape routes, sticking his hands under his armpits to get him at his most sensitive spot. "Oh no! No, stop!" Marty laughed desperately. "A little help here!"

Unfortunately for the kid, the others seemed perfectly content to stand there and smile. He decided he would have to fend for himself. He started tickling Doc in retaliation, grinning evilly as Doc started laughing hysterically too. "All right, all right, truce, kid!" he gasped out. They fell onto the floor and tried to regain their breath.

"You two are insane," Josephine said, shaking her head. Doc 2 had no comments, but Doc spotted something in his eyes. Jealousy. _I could never do that with my Marty. He wouldn't let me. Dr. Brown, you've truly been blessed._ The thought made Doc want to tell his counterpart that he didn't know that for sure. That maybe his Marty would enjoy some tickling. But before he could say a word, Doc 2 had returned to "business" mode. "I think that we need some rest -- especially you, Marty. We have quite a bit to do in the morning."

"We have quite a bit to do right now. Come on, Emmett, I want to see more of this nice Hill Valley." She, Jennifer, and Marty flew out the window. Doc lingered for a bit, hoping to talk to Doc 2, but he was busy with Clara, showing her all the advancements of the 20th century. Filing away what he had to say for later, he followed his family.

Friday, November 29th, 1985

Las Vegas, Nevada

7: 30 P. M.

"Do you, Emmett Grey, take Josephine Jones to be your lawfully wedded wife?" 

"I do."

"Do you, Josephine Jones, take Emmett Grey to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"Then, by the power vested in me, I pronounce you--"

"DRINK!"

The priest at the makeshift altar angrily turned to the old priest sitting behind him in a wheelchair. "You'll get your drink later! I'm doing a wedding!"

A younger priest, sitting beside the disheveled older priest, looked at the priest at the altar. "Ted, you sure we can conduct a wedding here in Las Vegas?"

"We're priests, Dougal. God's power extends all over the globe. We can do weddings anywhere we want." Ted smiled apologetically at Doc and Josephine. "I'm sorry about that. By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Doc and Josephine kissed as a small crowd of onlookers applauded. By their sides, Marty and Jennifer looked on approvingly. "So this makes it all official," Jennifer whispered to Marty. "We've got birth certificates and all that, and Doc and Josie have a marriage license. We're all a family now."

"If this guy really is a priest," Marty said, looking at Ted suspiciously. "Where are you from, anyway, Father Crilly?"

"Craggy Island. It's off the coast of Ireland."

"DRINK!"

Josephine looked to share Marty's doubts. "Emmett, are we really married?"

"I read his mind, Josephine. He is a real priest, believe it or not." He looked over at Ted, who was handing a bottle of wine to Father Jack Hackett to make him shut up. "They all are. The weirdest bunch of priests in existence, but real priests."

Father Dougal Mcguire seemed to think of something. "Ted -- wasn't the money we're using for this vacation supposed to go to charity? Isn't that what Len told us?"

"Dougal, be quiet! And it _is_ going to charity!"

"Really, Ted! Which one?"

"The -- the Foundation to Preserve Father Crilly's Sanity, of course. I just dropped off the money this morning. Would you know it, their office was _right _inside a gambling casino."

"Oh. Fair enough then, so."

Marty rolled his eyes. _Not the brightest bulb, is he?_

_That's probably why Ted's making a donation to that charity,_ Doc chuckled mentally. _But still, he did a nice wedding, and we have that to be grateful for._

_Yeah, that's true._ He gave Doc a big hug as the onlookers dispersed and Ted tried to keep Dougal from talking. "That was a great wedding, Dad."

"Same here, Mom. It feels really good to finally be a family," Jennifer agreed, hugging Josephine tight.

Doc patted Marty's head, relishing these brief moments when Marty would call him "dad." _Once we get outside, you can call me Doc again._

_No. I want to call you Dad. For a while now, whenever I think of my dad, I think of you. Now that everything's official, I really want to call you Dad. Because that's what you are._

Doc looked at him a second, surprised. Although he could feel it that Marty was completely sincere, he couldn't believe it for a moment. Then, slowly, he smiled and pulled Marty close. "Thanks -- son."

"You're welcome, Dad."

A sudden shout of, "CRILLY!" and Ted's terrified reaction to it was the vampires' cue to exit. As the left, Doc caught sight of himself in a mirror. He still looked every bit of 64, and his scar was still very apparent on his face. But his hair was neat and clean now, pushed back from his face, and he was clean-shaven. Once again, what really commanded his attention were his eyes. As usual, they were a liquid chocolate color -- but now they possessed a fresh spark, a sparkle that hadn't been there before.

He smiled and followed his new bride and family into the waiting taxi. He looked at them and recalled how, almost a year ago, the only happiness he could find had been in his dreams. _Not anymore,_ he thought, kissing Josie. _Things are finally right for me._

The End

Copyright 2003, Flaming Trails


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